At the final day of qualifying at Wimbledon, two West Australians \u2013 Maddison Inglis and Astra Sharma \u2013 have secured prized main draw spots.<\/p>\n
They join Jaimee Fourlis, Zoe Hives, Ajla Tomljanovic and wildcard Daria Saville in this year\u2019s ladies\u2019 singles field, taking the total number of Australian representatives in the main draw to six.<\/p>\n
World No.129 Inglis needed two hours and 43 minutes to overcome Serbia\u2019s Natalija Stevanovic, eventually prevailing 7-6(2) 2-6 6-2 to earn a Wimbledon main draw debut. This also marks the first time the 24-year-old from Perth has earned a Grand Slam place through qualifying.<\/p>\n
Sharma survived a spirited challenge from 16-year-old Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva, scoring a 3-6 6-2 6-3 win against the Andorran talent. It is the third time that Sharma, a 26-year-old from Perth ranked No.136, has qualified at a major tournament and ensures she\u2019ll make a 14th consecutive Grand Slam main draw appearance.<\/p>\n
The last time four Australian women qualified at Wimbledon was in 1980.<\/p>\n
RESULTS<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>Ladies\u2019 qualifying singles, final round
\n<\/em>[5] Maddison Inglis (AUS)\u00a0<\/strong>d Natalija Stevanovic (SRB) 7-6(2) 2-6 6-2
\n<\/strong>[10] Astra Sharma (AUS)\u00a0<\/strong>d [31] Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva (AND) 3-6 6-2 6-3<\/p>\n