Lexus Birmingham Open 2025: 17-year-old Mimi Xu defeats top seed to secure biggest win of her career
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As far as debuts go, British star Mimi Xu couldn’t have got off to a better start at the Lexus Birmingham Open after the 17-year-old wild card knocked out top seed Alycia Parks 6-1, 7-6(6) in her first WTA 125 event.
As a former WTA 125 champion on the grass and current world No.52, Parks was always going to pose a tricky challenge for the Brit, but Xu showed the home fans that she’s more than capable of taking on players at the top level.
After breezing through the opening set Xu was forced to dig deep in the second and showed great resilience to turn around a 6-3 deficit in the second set tie-break to earn the biggest win of her young career and first over a top 100 player.
With the British wild card brimming with confidence after beating the American top seed, Xu is well and truly relishing the opportunity of competing at the WTA 125 tournament this week and is eager to draw lessons from every match she plays.
“Apart from Wimbledon qualifying, this is the biggest level I’ve ever played so far so I’m looking forward to it,” Xu said following her win. “I’m really excited to see how my game stands against these top players - I’m confident and excited going forwards.
“Whether I win or lose, these matches, the flows of the matches and being able to compete against top players – I’ll learn a lot from it. It’s such a great experience, if I play my game, the ranking will come automatically.”
For the British teenager, her tennis journey began 14 years ago when she first picked up a racket at her local club in South Wales.
Fast forward to present day and the 17-year-old has formed an impressive resume on the ITF Junior Tour with a career-high ranking of world No.8, two J300 titles and standout performances as junior Grand Slam tournaments, including a semi-final run at the US Open. Xu’s talent has been clear from a young age, winning the Lexus Junior National Championships 16U and 18U event back in 2022 at the age of 14.
However, following a successful junior career, the young Brit began making the transition to the pro-level towards the tail end of last year and is now a regular competitor on the ITF tour where she’s shown she can go toe-to-toe with top players.
So far this season, she’s reached the quarter-finals at the W50 Kyoto and W35 Nottingham, lifted her maiden W35 trophy in Aldershot and will add her victory in Birmingham to her fast-growing list of highlights over the last few months.
“I started playing when I was three at Swansea Tennis and Squash Club. My neighbours were the ones who actually got me into tennis as my parents hadn’t had anything to do with it before, but they got me in, and I started going for half an hour each week. When I was seven, I won the Welsh Champions for 8U and that’s when I properly started thinking ‘I want to do this now’.
“From juniors, getting to the semi-finals of the US Open junior draw and getting to play on Louis Armstrong Stadium is something I’ll cherish forever . Also, getting to the Wimbledon junior doubles final last year is one of the highlights of my junior career.
“At pro-level, I think it’s just about maintaining my level for longer periods of time throughout the courses of the match. There’s always going to be flows but it’s about who is able to ride the waves and just kind of stick in it when it really matters to see who’s going to come out on top. It’s more of a mental and physical game (than juniors).”
Xu is being supported by the LTA Pro Scholarship Programme, presented by Lexus – the highest level of support offered to developing players between the ages of 16 and 24 with the best chance of reaching the ATP/WTA top 100 singles.
As part of the programme, Xu receives access to world class coaching and science and medicine support to help take her training and game to the next level as she continues her career on the professional tour.
“Nigel Sears and Katie O’Brien are leading my programme at the moment. I’ve known Katie since I was young, she was with me during Winter and Summer Cup so it’s nice to have someone who I’ve known for so long on my team.
“It (the programme) gives me access to physio, strength and conditioning and they’re all brilliant so I’m really, really grateful for the support.”
Now looking ahead to her second round match, and the remainder of British summer swing, Xu is hopeful the hard work she’s invested over the last few weeks will translate into a memorable summer on the grass.
“I didn’t play in the French Open juniors, so I was on the grass nice and early which gives me a lot of confidence coming into this week. I’ve been training really well and hopefully I can translate that onto the match court.
“I’ve been hitting with a lot of Brits – Marni (Banks), Amelia Rajecki, Heather (Watson) over the past few weeks – they’re all so lovely and it’s nice having a good bunch of girls supporting each other and making each other work hard each day.”
Xu will be back in action to contest her second round match in Birmingham on Wednesday 4 June where she will take on Poland’s Katarzyna Kawa.
Elsewhere in Birmingham, Heather Watson joined Xu as the second British women to reach the second round after beating Olivia Gadecki, 6-0, 6-3.
Catch up with all the latest results from the Lexus Birmingham Open
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