'My driving test was more stressful than Wimbledon'

Mimi Xu enjoyed notable wins at tournaments in Birmingham, Ilkley and Nottingham last season

Lexus Wrexham Open

Venue: Wrexham Tennis and Padel Centre Date: 20-26 October

Coverage: Watch live on BBC Sport online and BBC iPlayer

Teenage tennis star Mimi Xu says her driving test was far more stressful than playing Emma Raducanu on her Wimbledon debut.

Wildcard Xu won the hearts of the nation when she became the first Welsh player to enter the All England Club's main singles draw in 20 years.

Xu drew British number one Raducanu in her first-round match and played in front of thousands on Court One.

But the 18-year-old from Swansea says her practical driving test was much more of an ordeal.

"Leading up to the moment I passed, I was so tense, there was no way I could have driven back afterwards," she said.

"My mum doesn't trust me enough yet to drive on the big roads!"

Xu is one of 12 British hopes in the Wrexham Open, the biggest tennis event to come to Wales in almost 30 years.

Fresh from winning a W35 doubles title in Birmingham and with a career-best singles ranking of 309, Xu is hopeful of having a good run in north Wales.

She has been drawn against the number three seed, Lithuania's Justina Mikulskyte.

"I'm feeling confident in my game, I'm ready to go, ready to compete," Xu said.

"Everyone is at the level now where they can beat anyone on their day. Now that I'm 18 I get to play freely, there is always next week.

"I'm looking forward to carrying on developing my game, believing in myself, believing in my game, believing in all the hard work that I've put in and being confident to put it all out on the court, results will come if I do that."

Xu has fond memories of playing in Wrexham as a junior, but this will be the first time she has played a major senior tournament on Welsh soil.

"I'm really excited to play in front of a home Welsh crowd, I'm used to playing in front of a British crowd, but not a Welsh crowd," she said.

"My first time here was 11 years ago, it's changed a lot since then, it's been revamped and I'm really looking forward to playing here."

Xu is one of the main draws at Wrexham thanks to her Wimbledon exploits and she admits it feels a bit different going from an underdog to a contender.

"Both have their pressures, but as Billie Jean King said 'pressure is a privilege' and being able to have that home support will mean a lot to me, and that's what really helped me get through my Court One experience at Wimbledon."