Xu one of an exciting crop of Brits emerging on ITF World Tennis Tour
An impressive batch of junior talent is emerging in Great Britain, with Mimi Xu the latest player to pick up a maiden title in the professional realm on the ITF World Tennis Tour.
A multiple winner of LTA Junior Nationals titles, the 16-year-old Welsh player took another stride forward in her career as she lifted the title at W35 Aldershot last month, with the wildcard entrant dropping just one set on her path to victory.
Xu is part of an exciting cohort of young players emerging in Britain, with Mika Stojsavljevic's run to the Junior US Open title on Saturday - when she became the first British winner of the event since Heather Watson in 2009 - highlighting her potential. Xu very nearly joined her in the title match in New York, falling to eventual runner-up Wakana Sonobe in the semi-finals.
Surrey-born Hannah Klugman is another teenager to watch after she became the youngest player to qualify for a W100 event on the ITF World Tennis Tour in Shrewsbury last October, beating a record that had been set by USA's Coco Gauff in 2019.
British juniors are also showing real promise, with Scotland's Charlie Robertson reaching the semi-finals of the boys' singles at this year's US Open, as he backed up the victory for Henry Searle during last year's Wimbledon Junior Championships.
It is a hugely positive picture that suggests the post-Andy Murray era in British tennis has the potential to serve up a host of new champions, with some patience now required as the most promising crop of young British players look to progress onto the senior tour in the next few years.
The experience of playing on the ITF World Tennis Tour whets the appetite for success on the senior stage, with big-hitting Welsh player Xu hoping to add to her already impressive CV in the coming months after her impressive performances at the US Open.
The Swansea-born player is a graduate of the LTA's National Academy at Loughborough and she is now supported by the LTA's elite Pro Scholarship Programme, offered to players aged between 16 and 24 with the best chance of reaching the top 100 singles within five years.
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Impressively mature for her age, Xu had the chance to gain experience in senior tennis on the ITF World Tennis Tour, fuelling her confidence for what comes next.
"It's great that we have so many ITF World Tennis Tour events in Britain now and that is giving us a chance to understand what playing at that level is all about," says Xu, who played in qualifying for the main draw at Wimbledon in June.
"At the moment, my focus is on developing my game rather than results as that is the best area to focus on at this stage.
"Of course, we all want to win, but there is a great spirit among the British girls at the moment and we are all driving ourselves forward to the next level."
Xu has been busy off the court too, recently completing her maths A-Level two years early and the teenager has no plans to stop there as she hopes to maintain her love of studying alongside tennis.
"In my free time I just like to study. I don't know what else to do in my free time," she adds. "It's something different to tennis so it keeps my mind working.
"My tutor has been amazing. Whenever I have time I will have a lesson with her and it makes it a lot easier when I am away."
The pathways to the top of tennis are loaded with obstacles and the transition from the junior ranks to the seniors is one of the biggest steps any player will make in their careers.
So the significance of the ITF's World Tennis Tour to the tennis ecosystem cannot be under-estimated, with Iga Swiatek, Carlos Alcaraz, Emma Raducanu and Jannik Sinner among the latest collection of star names who have followed this path before ultimately going on to win their first Grand Slam titles.
Xu has practised with 2021 US Open champion Raducanu at the LTA's National Tennis Centre and the opportunity to understand how players at the top end of the game operate is invaluable to their development.
LTA Women's National Coach Katie O'Brien is overseeing the development of the impressive crop of British players, with the ITF World Tennis Tour an important stepping stone for the next chapters of their careers.
"We have really good depth of talent amongst our junior girls," former British No. 1 O'Brien told the LTA website.
"Our girls all get along so well and it feels like they are driving each other on, while also inspiring the generation just behind them.
"It helps that they are developing as a pack. There is not a single stand-out player as they are all very good, so they will drive each other on and progress together.
"These players are still very much at a developmental stage, but they are progressing quickly as they have played in some high-profile events and also have Junior Grand Slam experience.
"Our domestic competitions calendar and the ITF tournaments we have in Britain now are so important as we have been able to give our players a chance to test themselves against some of the best players in the world, which has helped to ensure our junior game is in a healthy state."
The month of October could be loaded with opportunities for Britain's most promising juniors players, as they may get the opportunity to play in the W100 tournament in Shrewsbury and the W75 event in Glasgow, where Xu was a semi-finalist last year.
While Jack Draper has emerged as the leader of the next generation of British tennis stars after his impressive run to this year's US Open semi-finals, it may not be long before he is joined on the game's biggest stages by a host of youthful compatriots.