Since Sir Andy Murray retired in 2024, we have seen a spike in the number of Britons involved in the preliminary stages of majors, even as serious contenders grow thin on the ground.
This is not purely a coincidence. As Davis Cup captain Leon Smith told Telegraph Sport in June, his post-Murray strategy was to "flood the slam qualies". And that was reflected in New York this week with a record number of Britons coming through the US Open's qualifying event.
Victories for Fran Jones, Harriet Dart and Harry Wendelken on Friday followed Toby Samuel's win the previous evening. This meant that there would be eight Britons participating in the main draw, of whom only four had earned direct entry via their ranking.
That number then climbed to nine when Jacob Fearnley – who had suffered an agonising third-set defeat to Austria's Jurij Rodionov in his own final qualifying match – snuck in as a so-called "lucky loser".
Of these nine names, Wendelken perhaps deserves the greatest acclaim because of the sheer scale of his effort. An Essex-born baseliner who had to choose between tennis and cricket at the age of 12, Wendelken spent nine hours and 14 minutes on court across his three matches – a figure that is believed to be a record for US Open qualifying.
Jacob Fearnley lost in the final round of qualifying but is in the main draw as a 'lucky loser' – Eric Bolte/Reuters
In the second round, against Switzerland's Rémy Bertola, Wendelken had rallied from a set and 5-2 down, saving a match point and eventually sealing a comeback for the ages. His road will not grow any easier from here, however, as the draw computer threw up a daunting first-round meeting with the big-hitting Luciano Darderi, the 21st seed from Italy.
Jones was contrastingly efficient, needing only four hours and 35 minutes – less than half Wendelken's tally – to bring home three comfortable wins. As the third seed in this qualifying event, she had missed out on direct entry by the narrowest of margins. But the quality of her play in Friday's 6-4, 6-1 win over Joanna Garland – another British-born player who now represents Chinese Taipei – suggested that she will give Polish veteran Magda Linette a run for her money in the main draw.
"I'm just glad to keep putting everyone to bed that keeps saying I'm a bloody clay-court player," said the ever-feisty Jones when she came into the interview room later. "I'm so sick of it. I just get told it too often.
"I also made a ballsy decision to change my racket," added Jones, who recently switched to a Wilson Ultra. "I only did two days' testing but I was concerned that my ball was losing a little bit too much [speed]. Sometimes you need to take risks and I really did feel that something needed to change."
Dart, who turned 30 last month, has also been in career overhaul mode this season after moving her training base to Dubai last September and hiring the former Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli – who also lives in the Emirate – as a coach.
Bartoli was a voluble presence at courtside on Friday as Dart fought back from a set down to beat her regular doubles partner and compatriot Heather Watson in three sets: 2-6, 6-4, 6-1. Each of these women had taken the long way round, playing deciding sets in all three matches this week, but the fact that Watson is four years older may have contributed to her running out of petrol down the home straight.
Harriet Dart is now working former Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli – Nick Turchiaro/Reuters
"For me, it's amazing to be able to soak up all her experience," said Dart of Bartoli. "She knows the game so well, and she's super positive, and she really believes in me. Initially, we had a meeting at Starbucks in Dubai, and I didn't really know whether she would be open to helping me. So I was really pretty pumped that she came on board. She's an amazing human being and being able to work with a grand slam champion is second to none."
