On July 9, Liv Hovde defeated Luca Udvardy of Hungary on the No. 1 Court to become the Wimbledon 2022 Girls' Singles champion. According to ESPN, Hovde beat Udvardy 6-3, 6-4 at the All England Club.
Local Profile featured the rising tennis star last week.
"It feels incredible and unbelievable," said Hovde after the match. "I just wanted to do my best and my best got me the champion, so ..." Hovde then thanked her mom and her coaches.
The 16-year-old tennis player, who hails from McKinney, said that Wimbledon's grass court suits her game. But playing there was daunting. "It was super nerve-racking at the beginning, but I just had to focus on down below and not on all the people," she said about the experience.
"I hope to be back in the pros soon," she added.
As Local Profile previously reported, Hovde's potential was already evident as early as 10 years old when she won the Texas Grand Slam U12, and later competed in her first international tournament at Les Petites As in Tarbes, France. Her coach Phil Dent said to The Dallas Morning News, “She’s got a tennis brain, she likes to compete. She likes to travel. There’s three big things, and she doesn’t mind working hard. So there’s four. If you look at most of the really good players in the world, they probably have those credentials.”
“Even though she’s doing great, we haven’t seen anywhere near the best of her. Not even close,” Dent previously told The Dallas Morning News. “She’s gonna be good — real good.”
Good? She's great.
