In an ideal world, players would rather directly qualify for the main draw at Wimbledon than have to battle through three rounds of qualifying at nearby Roehampton.
With their place in the main draw guaranteed, those players can compete at tour-level events on grass – which offer far greater prize money and ranking points than Wimbledon qualifying – to get match practice on the lawns.
Yet as Wimbledon unfolds, it’s clear that players who gritted their way through the field at Roehampton have fared better at the All England Club in 2025.
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Four qualifiers have reached the third round, while another two who competed at Roehampton – Solana Sierra and Marton Fucsovics – remain alive in the main draws as lucky losers.
By contrast, just three of the 11 grasscourt lead-in tournament champions have survived the first two rounds. Of the eight winners to have exited already, six fell in round one.
On this week’s episode of The Tennis, Australian pros Luke Saville and Jaimee Fourlis – who have both previously qualified for Wimbledon – talked about how beneficial it could be to arrive at the tournament via this route.
“There’s something very special when you do qualify and you earn that right to go into the locker room and walk around Wimbledon,” said Saville, who qualified three years in a row from 2014 to 2016.
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“If you want to see desperate tennis players, go to the last round of qualies for Wimbledon, because as Jaimee alluded to, you’re fighting to get into that main draw.
“You kind of feel like… you have to earn that right to get into the main draw [and access the main site at the All England Club], rather than here at the Australian Open, or the other Slams, you’re at least playing on site in the qualies.
“If you get through, and your matches haven’t been too long, you have great preparation going into the main draw, and we see quite a few qualifiers in the third round.”