Hon secures first main draw spot at Wimbledon
Priscilla Hon finally booked her spot in the main draw at Wimbledon on Thursday after six previous attempts, defeating rising star Victoria Mboko 4-6 7-6 6-1 in the final round.
Having played in the main draw at each of the other Grand Slams - picking up wins in Melbourne and Paris - Wimbledon was the only major at which Hon had yet to feature.
The 27-year-old Australian had come close before, reaching the final round of qualifying in 2021 and 2022.
Hon's chances of reaching the main draw looked hugely unlikely in the second set of her clash with Mboko as she faced down five match points - but she refused to buckle.
The Australian fought her way to a tiebreak, which she took control of, before running away with the third set.
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It's been a long journey to this stage for Hon, who has been winning titles on the ITF World Tennis Tour since 2015.
"I've been playing on tour for a long time, and I've been playing Juniors, so I started travelling when I was 12," reflected Hon on Wednesday.
A hip injury during the 2020 season kept her out for over a year, but she returned to winning ways in 2022 at W25 Netanya - which lead to her claiming two more titles that season.
"Each year kind of gets to you a little bit more and I feel like I'm trying to find the balance between still being able to be fresh and being able to travel week in week out and still find the motivation," she admitted.
"I think there's been periods where I've been struggling with that but I think right now I've found a good balance."
Since 2022, she has continued to pick up multiple titles every year - and won the biggest of her career in 2024 at W75 Burnie, adding two more W75 titles to her collection this season.
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Hon, who has 13 titles to her name, will play 18th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in the first round at Wimbledon, where she will seek her third main-draw match-win at a Grand Slam.