Jack Loutit comes through boy's qualifying at Wimbledon

New Zealand’s Jack Loutit has come through qualifying to make it into the main draw at the Junior Wimbledon Championships.

Loutit defeated the No 2 seed Mihai Alexandru Coman from Romania 6-3 6-3 on Friday in the final round of qualifying to book his spot in the main draw. 

"I’m super happy to qualify, I played two high level matches against two really good players," Loutit said.

"It wasn’t easy but I’m glad to have got through and now I get a chance to compete on the big stage."

Loutit, who is ranked 80 in the world in juniors, will play against American Learner Tiem in the first round of the main draw on Sunday. The 16-year-old Tiem is ranked 37 in the world. 

Loutit, 18, has become the first Kiwi to play in the main draw at Wimbledon since 2018, when the Te Anau born Lulu Sun briefly played under a New Zealand flag, before reverting back to her Swiss nationality

The last time New Zealand had a boy play in the main draw at Wimbledon was in 2010 when Sebastian Lavie and Ben McLachlan both lost in the first round. At that time McLachlan played as a New Zealander, before switching nationality to Japan several years later.