‘Speechless’ British schoolgirl, 15, just one win away from Wimbledon after fairytale qualifying run

A BRITISH schoolgirl is on the verge of playing at Wimbledon after a fairytale run.

Hannah Klugman, 15, is ranked 623^rd in the world and has picked up two wins in qualifying so far.

15-year-old British schoolgirl Hannah Klugman is on the verge of reaching Wimbledon[/caption]

She beat 28^th seed Linda Fruhvirtova in three sets yesterday.

And Klugman faces world No121 Alycia Parks later today, with victory sealing a place at Wimbledon next month.

Speaking after yesterday’s victory, the teen admitted she could not believe she is on the verge of the main tournament after competing at last year’s juniors.

Klugman said: “I am speechless. To get the win was really good, it was very emotional.”

The ace knows a thing or two about winning already, having won the Orange Bowl title in Florida in December at the age of 14.

Should Klugman reach Wimbledon, she will be just eight days older than Coco Gauff was when she became the youngest modern-day qualifier aged 15 years and 122 days in 2019.

The south-west London native grew up less than two miles away from Wimbledon’s Centre Court, learning her trade at Westside Tennis Club.

Klugman added: “I was probably about three when I could actually hold a racket.

“My sisters used to play when I was younger so they brought me into the game.

“My mum used to play as well – still plays – and I used to hit with them on the side of the court.

“It’s massively special. I’ve been here every year watching and for me to play here this year is insane.

“I literally live five minutes away.”

Wimbledon 2024 prize money

PRIZE MONEY for the 2024 Wimbledon Championships is a new record – and puts the grass-court Slam at the top of the tree.

The All England Club will dish out £50million across all the events – an increase of £5.3m and 11.9 per cent on last year, where singles champions Carlos Alcaraz and Marketa Vondrousova picked up £2.35m each.

However, the king and queen of grass this July will collect an extra £350,000 – taking the winner’s earnings to £2.7m.

Here is the breakdown for the 2024 Wimbledon singles prize money: