Britain’s Jodie Burrage shed “happy tears” following her first main-draw win at the Australian Open, only two months after contemplating leaving the sport.
The 25-year-old achieved a 6-2 6-4 victory against French qualifier Leolia Jeanjean in Melbourne.
Burrage’s career has been troubled by injuries, and after being out for six months last year, she considered retiring.
Burrage was uncertain about “how much fight” remained in her but pressed on due to her passion for the sport and has now achieved one of the greatest victories of her career.
“It was a wise choice [to continue working],” stated world rank 173 Burrage.
The prize is a prominent matchup with American third seed Coco Gauff in the second round.
In the meantime, Harriet Dart capitalized on her ‘lucky loser’ position by securing a hard-fought victory against Jana Fett to advance to the second round.
Reasons Burrage considered resigning
Burrage showcased an impressive display of confidence, utilizing her powerful groundstrokes and formidable first serve to overwhelm 149th-ranked Jeanjean with a variety of skills.
The British player ranked seven competed fiercely, particularly harming her opponent with her forehand by striking 23 winners.
After clinching the win on her initial match point with a massive net cord, Burrage immediately shielded her face with her hands.
The British supporters in the audience cheered in appreciation before Burrage went back to her seat and took a few moments to cry under a towel.
Burrage mentioned later that her pre-match nerves had made it difficult for her to have breakfast.
“All the feelings from the past nine months, I believe, were kept inside,” she stated.
“I believe that since I’ve been playing well, I recognize what a great opportunity today was.”
“I was aware of the effort that went into it over the past year.”
Burrage contemplated leaving the sport in 2020 following numerous injuries, but rebounded to achieve the greatest triumphs of her career.
A first Grand Slam victory occurred at Wimbledon in 2023, resulting in a memorable appearance on Centre Court during the second round, as she also triumphed in the first round of that year’s US Open.
Burrage was positioned at a career-best 84th in the world when her advancement was halted once more.
In February, she required surgery for a ruptured tendon in her wrist – her fourth procedure throughout her career – and faced another setback in April while getting ready to come back to competitive play.
Burrage tore an ankle ligament during a training session with British number one Katie Boulter and, while she didn’t need surgery, she was out for an additional 10 weeks.
After returning to the lower-level ITF Futures Tour, she cried during a practice session and wondered if the struggle was worthwhile.
Nevertheless, she persisted and has now made history as the first British player to triumph in this year’s Australian Open singles.
Dart later joined her, saving two match points in a courageous 7-5 2-6 7-6 (10-7) victory against Croatian qualifier Fet.
Dart, 28, was defeated in qualifying but became a lucky loser when 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova pulled out due to injury earlier on Monday.
Both players faced difficulties on serve in a final set that featured six consecutive breaks before Dart prevailed to arrange a matchup with Croatian 18th seed Donna Vekic.
British men’s top player Jack Draper and the quickly emerging Scot Jacob Fearnley, who is up against Nick Kyrgios, compete later.
