Thousand Oaks native Claire Liu finally reaches

LONDON — Claire Liu packed her baggage and checked out of her London lodge room on Wednesday morning before heading to the All England Club.

It was more pragmatism than pessimism — a actuality of a qualifier navigating her Wimbledon journey sooner or later at a time.

But as her boyfriend reminded her while organizing her baggage: “Just because you’re packing doesn’t mean you’re leaving,” Liu recalled with a snicker.

He was proper.

The Thousand Oaks native went on to win her second-round match against 51st-ranked Zeynep Sonmez of Turkey 7-5, 6-3, advancing to the third spherical of a Grand Slam for the first time in her skilled profession. She had tried 29 earlier occasions at majors, including qualifying rounds, since 2015.

“I was just super relieved to get through that,” said Liu, noting she had blown a set and a break lead in the French Open’s second spherical last month.

For Liu, who turned 26 in May, returning to the manicured lawns of SW19 brings her tennis journey full circle. Nine years in the past, she captured the 2017 Wimbledon women’ singles title — the first American to do so since Chanda Rubin in 1992 — and was the No. 1 junior in the world. She still holds fond recollections of that heady achievement, including chatting with her idol, Roger Federer, at the Wimbledon Champions Ball.

Yet, the transition from teenage phenom to skilled mainstay has been something but a linear ascent. When requested if she anticipated to be in the third spherical of a major this late in her profession given her junior success, Liu was candid.

“Younger me would have believed it more than now,” she said.

That shift in perspective comes after weathering some brutal setbacks.

Liu climbed as high as No. 52 in early 2023 but then endured a wrist injury and took a months-long mental health hiatus in 2024 that finally noticed her rating plummet exterior the top 400 last yr.

Currently sitting at No. 146, she’s been rebuilding her standing by taking part in a combine of WTA 125 occasions and ITF tournaments before returning to the main WTA Tour, with 2026 stops in far-flung locations from Bahrain to Boca Raton and lots of locations in between.

“My goals haven’t changed, but I think the stress of how I got there really took a toll on me,” said Liu.

To navigate the darkness, Liu leaned closely into both sports activities psychology and conventional therapy, including EMDR, a approach that helps people course of traumatic experiences. She also began a Substack e-newsletter called “Finding Claire-ity,” where she overtly chronicles her life and struggles on the tour.

The Southern California native, who has skilled at the USTA facility in Carson since she was 9 years outdated and resides in Redondo Beach, also cut up with her longtime coach last season, a tough determination, and employed Clemens Wagner.

The swap following the U.S. Open last yr is clicking.

“I saw in her someone who fought a lot of battles inside herself,” says Austrian-born Wagner, who has a background in tennis analytics.

Together, they’ve centered on protecting an “aggressive undertone” on the grass, emphasizing coming to the web and squeezing the most out of her sport.

Wagner notes that the 5-foot-7 participant’s sport isn’t the flashiest, but describes her as a “silent killer” who excels at “redirecting pace, standing close to the baseline, constantly putting pressure on her opponents.”

The reboot is beginning to pay important dividends.

Liu put together her best stretch in years this spring, profitable a lower-tier title in Trnava, Slovakia, her first skilled title since 2024, and then qualifying for the French Open.

Having again efficiently navigated three rounds of qualifying to attain the main draw right here, Liu has now gained 5 consecutive matches at Wimbledon. Not surprisingly, she at present has no sponsors, just gear assist from Head Sport and Asics Corp., making her Wimbledon run significantly profitable. By reaching the third spherical, Liu achieved her highest profession payday: around $250,000. A victory Friday would increase that to practically $400,000.

First, she faces her largest check yet: a third-round contest against two-time major champion Coco Gauff on No. 1 Court, which maybe fittingly is the same show court where Liu gained the women’ title virtually a decade in the past.

Gauff, 22, famous that she and Liu haven’t crossed paths a lot since Liu is older, but expects a critical battle. Gauff gained both of their earlier conferences on laborious courts.

“I feel like anytime you’re playing a qualifier, it’s always tough because they have three matches already,” the seventh-seeded American said.

Liu, who didn’t even know she was taking part in Gauff until a reporter told her after her match, is purposefully protecting her focus slender.

“I will just take today to be happy for winning, and then tomorrow I’ll think about it,” Liu said. “Obviously she’s one of the best players in the world right now, so that’ll be a good experience.”

Veteran Jessica Pegula, 32, the top-ranked American who also toiled away on the game’s decrease tier before changing into a top-10 mainstay, appreciates Liu’s resolve.

“It’s always nice to see girls that are figuring it out slowly but surely,” the No. 4 seed said. “I think I can relate to that.”

Liu’s lodging? Fortunately, her mom was in a position to rebook the same lodge after the match, which eased some of the logistical points for her unexpectedly prolonged keep in London.

“It definitely makes me stay in the moment, like, day by day,” Liu smiled of her lodging limbo.

On Wednesday morning, Liu packed her baggage anticipating she may depart Wimbledon. Instead, she emptied them one more time, with the most important match of her profession still ready.