History Made: Lina Gjorcheska Makes Wimbledon Debut Against Sixth Seed Anisimova
Lina Gjorcheska becomes the first Macedonian tennis player ever to compete in the main singles draw of a Grand Slam, facing last year's finalist Amanda Anisimova on Wimbledon's opening Tuesday.
Today, Lina Gjorcheska is writing the biggest chapter in the history of Macedonian tennis. The player from Tetovo has become the first Macedonian woman ever to qualify for the main singles draw of a Grand Slam tournament — and she's doing it at the most prestigious of them all, Wimbledon.
Three Rounds of Qualifying, Three Victories
The road here wasn't easy. Gjorcheska battled through three tough qualifying rounds at the All England Club, defeating Spain's Angela Fita Boluda (6-2, 6-4), Portugal's Francisca Jorge after a dramatic comeback (5-7, 6-2, 6-1), and finally Italy's Lucia Bronzetti with a commanding 6-1, 6-2 in the final qualifying round.
Round 1: def. Angela Fita Boluda 6-2, 6-4
Round 2: def. Francisca Jorge 5-7, 6-2, 6-1
Round 3: def. Lucia Bronzetti 6-1, 6-2
A Brutal First-Round Draw
The historic achievement immediately brought double rewards: a guaranteed $110,000 in prize money just for reaching the main draw — roughly a quarter of her entire career earnings in a single match — but also a punishing first-round test. Gjorcheska was drawn against sixth seed and last year's finalist, American Amanda Anisimova.
Anisimova, 24, reached the Wimbledon final in 2025 before being completely outplayed by Iga Świątek in a 6-0, 6-0 defeat. She also made the US Open final the same year. Ranked sixth in the world, she enters as the heavy favourite in this opening-round clash.
Match Details
The match is being played on Court 2 at Wimbledon, the opening match of the tournament's second day, with a start time of 1:00 PM local UK time (12:00 noon Macedonian time). The match is being broadcast live on Arena Sport Macedonia.
Regardless of the result, Lina Gjorcheska's name is already permanently etched into the history books of Macedonian sport — she remains the first, and so far only, Macedonian tennis player ever to step onto a Grand Slam main draw court.
MKNews Hub · Sport · 30 June 2026