Katie Swan said she still has “lots of positives” to take despite a first-round exit from Wimbledon on the opening day of the Championships.
The 24-year-old, from Bristol, was beaten 7-5 6-2 by Olympic champion and 14th seed Belinda Bencic on Monday.
Swan was competing at the All England Club for the fifth time in her career as a wildcard.
However, this was the third year in a row Swan has been knocked out of the tournament in the first round.
“It was a really tough match, she’s a great player. I knew it was going to be tough going into it,” Swan told BBC Sport.
“I definitely had my chances and wasn’t able to convert them. If you don’t take them against good players like that then it’s really tough.
“It was pretty tight the whole way through the first set, I just didn’t play well enough in the tight moments.”
Swan began the grass season well in 2023 and reached the final of the Surbiton Trophy last month, yet she then retired from a tournament in Italy and missed the traditional Wimbledon warm-up tournament at Eastbourne last week.
She warmed up for Wimbledon training with former world number one and seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams.
“I played some really good matches over the grass season, I just had a bit of an injury problem the week before Eastbourne – but that happens and you just have to deal what’s in front of you,” Swan said.
“I got myself as ready as I could for this week and there’s still lots of positives to take from this week, and I’ll definitely take them into the hard court season.”
Swan, who is ranked 146th in the world, said the success of compatriots Katie Boulter and Jodie Burrage – the latter reaching the second round of Wimbledon – is motivational for her development.
“My goal would definitely be to not be a wildcard next time I come back, but I’ve got to be consistent with the day-to-day stuff and work on getting my ranking up.
“I think we’re all really pushing each other and I think everyone has the level to definitely be minimum inside the top 100, so hopefully we’ll get more of us in there in the next few months.”
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at BBC Sport – Tennis…