After an encouraging start to 2016, British tennis fans can put their hopes of a homegrown women's winner on Stockport's Naomi Broady. Broady, ranked number 84 in the world, will be hoping to become the first British women to win Wimbledon since Virginia Wade in 1977.
Notable results to date
Broady began her year with a bang, coming out of qualifying to stun Ana Ivanovic in the opening round before a controversial win against Latvian Jelena Ostapenko to reach the quarterfinals in Auckland. The Brit's dream run ended at the hand's of eventual champion Sloane Stephens, losing out to the American 7-6, 6-3.
After falling in the opening round of qualifying at the Australian Open, the 26-year-old went to the ITF Circuit, reaching the semifinals in Maui and taking the title in Midland to break into the top 100 for the first time in her career.
The six-foot-two Broady fell in qualifying again in Doha, before her best result on the WTA tour this season, a semifinal run in Kuala Lumpur which included edging third seed Sabine Lisicki along the way.
After a much improved first two months of the season, a string of poor results followed the Brit, losing early in San Antonio, Miami, Katowice, Prague, Madrid, and Rome. Despite the struggles on clay, Broady was able to secure her first direct entry into a Grand Slam main draw, a big achievement for any up-and-coming player.
A tough draw handed the Stockport native an opening round meeting with fellow big-serve Coco Vandeweghe, which she would go on to lose in a heartbreaking three-setter 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.
Most recently Broady has fallen in the opening round in Nottingham and Birmingham. The Brit received a wildcard into the main draw at this week's Aegon International in Eastbourne.
Best grass results leading to Wimbledon
The Brit began her grass court season in Nottingham, falling fairly convincingly to Chinese Taipei's Su-Wei Hsieh 6-2, 6-1. The following week in Birmingham, Broady played much better, pushing world number 51 Daria Gavrilova three sets, with the Aussie eventually winning through 4-6, 6-2, 6-3. This week in Eastbourne, Broady is set to begin her Aegon International campaign against qualifier Monica Puig.
Best result at Wimbledon
Broady first played the main draw at Wimbledon in 2011 as a wildcard, falling to fellow Brit Anne Keothovang in straight sets. The Stockport native duplicated that result a year later, that time falling victim to veteran clay-courter Lourdes Domínguez Lino.
After missing out on the main draw in 2013, Broady claimed her first ever Grand Slam main draw win, with a thrilling 2-6, 7-6, 6-0 victory over Hungary's Timea Babos to gain a career-best result at the All England Club, before falling to former world number one Caroline Wozniacki in straight sets. Last year the world number 84 again fell in the first round to Colombia's Mariana Duque-Mariño.
How Broady's game translates to the surface
With Broady's big serve and powerful groundstrokes her game naturally translates to the pristine grass of England. Broady can use her huge six-foot-two frame to her advantage, making hitting aces far easier on the fast grass. Broady's frequent doubles play also benefits her, as her world-class net game translates to the fast, low-bouncing grass. If the Brit hopes to have success at SW19, she will need to use her big groundstrokes and huge serve to take control of points and finish them off at the net in classic serve and volley style. Expect Broady to use her power game well and granted a good draw, win a few rounds here at Wimbledon.