All tennis players have at least one bogey player - someone they really do not want to face in a tournament - especially not in the first round, and especially not on grass.

For the seeds, that person could be just outside the world's top 32, 'a dangerous floater’, but it could also be a dreaded qualifier.

Coaches often say that qualifying for a Grand Slam is one of the hardest things to accomplish in tennis.

Qualifiers are hungry - starving even - for the opportunity to play at one of the four big tournaments. And they are battle hardened, having come through three straight matches where their opponents are just as desperate to succeed. Prize money (life-changing for many), points and prestige are on the line.

Gentlemen's singles draw
Ladies' singles draw

On Thursday, world No.98 Taylor Townsend qualified for a fifth Wimbledon singles main draw since making her first Grand Slam appearance at The Championships in 2014. 

Alongside partner Katerina Siniakova, Townsend lifted last year's ladies' doubles trophy, and the American’s straight sets victory in Qualifying over Switzerland’s Celine Naef assured her of a singles berth this year as well. She will face compatriot and No.28 seed Sofia Kenin. 

“I really find I gather a lot of strength from Qualifying,” Townsend said. “Because you earned your spot and you earned your way in.

"Also, because I wasn't able to get match play on grass leading up to this event, I think it will be really great to be able to get some matches under my belt for main draw. So [I'm] going into main draw kind of match prepared, match ready and kind of got my feet wet."

It must have felt that way in 2023 for teenager Mirra Andreeva, who not only qualified at Wimbledon that year but went on to win three matches in the main draw.

Her final Qualifying match was a three-set affair, as was her first round match proper, but she squeezed through both before being upended by Madison Keys in a thrilling fourth round clash that went the distance. 

Andreeva had never played a professional grass court match before Wimbledon 2023.

Coco Gauff was 15 years old when she made a splash on the Wimbledon grass in 2019 - who can forget the fairytale run that was finally ended in the second week by Simona Halep?

Gauff, bidding to become the youngest Wimbledon quarter-finalist since fellow 15-year-old Jennifer Capriati in 1991, had cruised through Qualifying and then caused shockwaves by beating three more opponents, including Venus Williams (main picture), for the loss of just one set.

Last year, coach Nick Horvat watched Donna Vekic reach the semi-finals for the first time at Wimbledon, and he believes the advantage qualifiers have is physiological and technical.

“The grass court season is short and main draw players don't play many matches on grass so that makes qualifiers even more dangerous,” he said.

“It's a high level of confidence which takes them into the main draw. Plus, the timing of hitting the ball on grass is challenging - it's the most challenging adjustment in tennis.”

Last year, Lulu Sun was the qualifier who made a name for herself. She beat Alexandra Eala to qualify and then took out Qinwen Zheng in the first round of main draw action, and later Emma Raducanu, before finally being stopped by Vekic in the quarter-finals.

Powerful Sun dazzles Raducanu

Sun was coached by Vladimir Platenik at the time. “We can see many times that a player outside the top 100 can be dangerous when they qualify for a major, they improve from one match to another and are hungry for more,” he said. “Once they reach the main draw, anything is possible.”

Thirty-two men and women confirmed their spots in the main draw of The Championships on Thursday, a mixture of young (Iva Jovic, James McCabe, Linda Fruhvirtova) and experienced (Shuai Zhang, Adrian Mannarino and Petra Martic) amongst them.

But they all have one thing in common - a healthy desire to continue the journey and cause upsets along the way.