A week ago, Alicia Dudeney had never played a Grand Slam match, let alone at the home of tennis itself. But much has changed for Dudeney in recent months.

After consistent success on the ITF Tour, the Hove ace has skyrocketed to world No. 245 in singles and world No. 208 in doubles.

Awarded a wildcard into the singles draw at Wimbledon, the 23-year-old faced a tough test against former world No. 40 Alycia Parks, losing in two close sets.

She came out the wrong side of her doubles debut on Thursday, alongside compatriot Mimi Xu - but the British pair were up against a former world No. 1 and a Grand Slam champion.

Alicia Dudeney plays a forehand against Alycia Parks during the Ladies' Singles first round match at Wimbledon (Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images)

placeholder image — Alicia Dudeney plays a forehand against Alycia Parks during the Ladies' Singles first round match at Wimbledon (Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images)

Hsieh Su-wei and Wang Xinyu showed their experience in a 6-3 6-4 win on Court 8, and Dudeney noticed the difference in their level.

“They never let up,” said Dudeney. “The whole time they're constantly on it; they don't really give you many sloppy errors or games here and there.

“You really have to be on it every single point, compared to maybe at lower levels, where you might be able to get away with not being 100% on it yourself.”

Xu added: “We played two very experienced opponents, so it was always going to be tough. We weren't necessarily doing the wrong things, we missed a bit, but they were solid, they were consistent.

“They got ahead of a lot of the games, a lot of the service games, and when they broke us, they were good from the start.

“I think we had the right intentions going into the match and they were better players.”

The 2026 summer grass court swing was the duo’s first time playing together, but you wouldn’t know. Both Dudeney and Xu looked at ease on the grass, having also partnered one another at the Lexus Ilkley Open and the Lexus Nottingham Open.

With its illustrious history and impressive prestige, Wimbledon is a whole different beast - particularly for British prospects. But Dudeney and Xu soaked it all in when they stepped out onto Court 8.

“It's always an amazing experience,” said 18-year-old Xu, who made her Wimbledon debut last year. “You've got the British crowd behind you constantly.

“They're always absolutely amazing, and they always bring such an atmosphere, such a buzz.

“It's such an honour to play in front of such an amazing crowd and have Wimbledon as a home tournament. Honestly, it means so much.”

And when asked if they want the partnership to continue, both Xu and Dudeney agreed.

“Definitely,” said Xu. “It's a lot of fun. We get on really well on and off the court.”

Dudeney added: “It's been really fun. This grass season is the first that we've played together. We've played against each other a few times, but it's much nicer being on the same side of the net. Hopefully, we'll play again in the future.”

For the latest updates on the British summer grass court season, visit the LTA website, lta.org.uk