Mai and Ruangkao shine! They advance side by side to Round 2 at the 2026 Wimbledon tennis tournament.
Thai women’s tennis made a strong showing at the Grand Slam event as “Mai” Mananchaya Sawangkaew and “Ruangkao” Lalana Thararut each won their first-round singles matches at Wimbledon 2026 in England on 29 June, successfully moving on to the second round.
The highlight was Mananchaya Sawangkaew, ranked 164th globally, who started from the qualifying rounds and delivered an impressive performance by overturning Maya Chwalinska, the 21st seed from Poland, 2-1 sets. This marked Mananchaya’s first main draw Grand Slam victory in her career. In the second round, she will face Alicia Parks from the United States.
Meanwhile, Lalana Thararut, ranked 95th in the world, fought hard against Austria’s Lilly Tagger and narrowly won 2-1 sets to reach the second round. This also marked Lalana’s first main draw Grand Slam win. She will next face 18th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova.
The achievements of Mananchaya and Lalana mark an important day for Thai tennis, as both secured wins in the main draw at Wimbledon 2026 and advanced to the second round. Lalana’s victory was her first in a Grand Slam main draw, making her the fourth Thai female tennis player to reach the second round of a Grand Slam, following Tamarine Tanasugarn, Luksika Kumkhum, and Mananchaya Sawangkaew herself—who all succeeded on the same day. Both players are scheduled to compete in the second round tomorrow (1 July 2026).