Wimbledon has always been the field of Kimberly Birrell's dreams.
From waking up in the middle of the night to watch with her parents, to visualising the Wimbledon grass courts whIle hitting at her parents’ tennis club, SW19 has always been the pinnacle for Birrell.
“Every player says it but Wimbledon has a special place in my heart, especially with how much we talked about is as kids growing up,” she told The Sit-Down.
“I was at the courts all the time and even my dad would say ‘where are you going?’ And I would say 'Wimbledon'. Like, it has just always been my path.”
Although Birrell made her Wimbledon main-draw debut in 2025, the Queenslander brought up a significant milestone this year, notching her first win at the grasscourt major.
She became one of five Australians who will compete in the second round of Wimbledon, after Alex de Minaur, James Duckworth, Maya Joint and Daria Kasatkina also won their opening-round matches.
Kasatkina meets Janice Tjen on Wednesday night (AEST) for a place in the third round, before Birrell and the rest of the Aussie contingent return to the All England Club on Thursday for their shot at a spot in the last 32.
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Birrell's first-round win was an achievement that at times seemed unlikely. Her battle with elbow injuries early in her career cast doubt, before several near-misses in qualifying placed that dream seemingly further out of reach.
However, her victory over Alina Korneeva on Tuesday made her realise the magnitude of realising that dream.
“It's definitely important to take a step back and remind myself how far I've come and how special it is to be here. I'm literally living my childhood dream so it's very cool,” she said.
“At different times, I'm just reminded of those kinds of things, whether it's in an interview or even just hugging my brother after the match today, and he had some tears in his eyes. I'm like, ‘this is cool’.
“We talked about this so much as kids, and there was a time where I didn't know if I would succeed in playing the main draw of Wimbledon. I've had some absolutely heartbreaking matches in qualifying over the years, so to be here doing this is very special and it's taken a long time.”
Birrell’s first-round triumph is one of many accolades she has achieved in another groundbreaking season. The 27-year-old is firmly establishing herself as a Grand Slam mainstay, proving that on the big stages, she can match it with the best.
Exactly five weeks ago, Birrell overcame a first-set deficit to shock fifth seed Jessica Pegula at Roland Garros, recording the biggest victory of her career. She believes with 12 months more experience under her belt at the top flight, she is beginning to understand what is required to remain consistent.
> READ: Brilliant Birrell beats Pegula at Roland Garros
“I kind of just almost wanted to get the monkey off my back and get some wins at Slams this year. I think that was just a really big goal of mine,” she said.
“In some areas I feel like I am very experienced, and sometimes I feel like I'm still fresh on tour. It's kind of an interesting experience, but I'm always learning about myself in high-pressure environments and just trying to put myself in those situations more and building my resilience in those tight moments. Especially the tight moments in Grand Slams, I think it's really important.
“The difference of waking up this morning compared to when I woke up on my match day last year was just so completely different.”
Despite triumphing at Wimbledon for the first time, Birrell will not be feeling complacent when she next faces 17th seed Sorana Cirstea.
Now that she is regularly competing at top-level tournaments, the Queenslander wants to push her limits.
“I want to put a little bit pressure on myself because I do believe that I can be going deeper in Slams and deeper in tournaments week to week,” she said.
“I don't want to just turn up and be happy that I'm playing. I want to be in the top 50. In terms of my elbow, there was a point where I came back and started playing again and I was just happy to be here.
"But now I want to be in the third round. So that's my goal going into the next match."
You can watch Wimbledon on the channels of the Nine Network and Stan Sport.
Aussies in action: Wimbledon
COMING UP – Day 3
Women’s singles, second round
Daria Kasatkina (AUS) v Janice Tjen (INA) – First match, Court 16
COMING UP – Day 4
Women’s singles, second round
Kimberly Birrell (AUS) v [17] Sorana Cirstea (ROU)
Maya Joint (AUS) v [29] Alexandra Eala (PHI)
Men’s singles, second round
[5] Alex de Minaur (AUS) v Adrian Mannarino (FRA)
James Duckworth (AUS) v TBC