Wimbledon 2022: Burrage takes positives from encouraging grass court campaign

By Oli Dickson Jefford at Wimbledon

Jodie Burrage is hoping her successful grass court campaign can be a springboard to future success after she lost her first round match at Wimbledon against Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko.

The 24-year old, who is on the LTA’s Pro Scholarship Programme – the highest level of support for players aged 16-24 - insists she is taking the positives from her 6-2 6-3 Wimbledon exit after a month that has seen her record the biggest wins of her career.

Burrage reached the semi-finals at the Surbiton Trophy and final at the LTA’s Ilkey Trophy before shocking world No.4 Paula Badosa at the LTA’s Rothesay International in Eastbourne over the last month.

And she admitted that despite her Wimbledon disappointment, there are plenty of reasons for optimism moving forward.

“You're always going to be nervous in the first round of a slam. I dealt with myself better than I did last year. Last year I didn't deal with myself very well,” she said.

“I'm taking learnings from that, and kind of put last week behind me. Every week is a fresh week. Just because you win a few matches one week doesn't mean you're going to win a few matches the next week.

“That's one of the things I've learned over the last few weeks. There's highs and lows in tennis. You want to try to keep level. That's what I'm trying to do, and take the positives and the learnings from each one.

“Last year I lost four out of four grass court matches. This year I think I've played maybe 15 or 16 matches now on the grass, and won a lot more than I've lost.

“It's been a very positive few weeks for me. I’m definitely taking a lot of positives and a lot of learnings from being around these top girls.

“I will take those things into my next few tournaments, into US Open qualifying, into that run in the States, and hopefully keep this momentum going.”

The match featured two disruptions; the first when rain stopped, and then when a ball boy was taken ill.

Burrage - who will also be playing doubles with British team-mate Eden Silva - was the first to help the ball boy, and didn't believe it affected her focus.

“He just said he was feeling really faint. He couldn't actually really talk. It was quite distressing to see,” she added.

“I just tried to get him some sugar and gave him a drink. They managed to find some Percy Pigs somewhere along the line in the crowd, which he got down and then started to feel better.

“To be honest, it didn't affect me too much. I actually came out, hit a great serve, probably the best serve I hit in that match after that. If anything, it did help me. I just hope he's okay.”

For the latest action on the British summer grass court season, check out the LTA Website