Emily's dream is crushed

Bristol tennis ace Emily Webley-Smith's Wimbledon dream is over for 2009 after she fell at the first hurdle in wildcard qualifying yesterday.

The 24-year-old was inconsolable following her exit as she crashed out at the first time of asking at the Bank of England Sports Club in Roehampton.

The British No 7, who seemed to freeze when it mattered most, slipped to a 6-0, 6-1 defeat to Hungary's world No 202 Greta Arn.

Webley-Smith qualified for Wimbledon in 2004 and reached the second round before losing to seeded American Amy Frazier.

But an unwanted wrist injury sustained just weeks ahead of qualifying this time around, which also saw her miss the AEGON Trophy in Nottingham and last week's tournament at Edgbaston, saw Webley-Smith struggle for form and fitness.

Webley-Smith needed to win three matches at Roehampton to progress into the main draw but Arn – who is over 100 places higher than the Thornbury ace in the global listings – proved to be a match too far.

Webley-Smith made her tennis comeback a year ago after a series of ankle injuries and has climbed 167 places in the world rankings to number 303 since the turn of the year.

The Brit, who raced straight to the locker room following her horror showing, had been in fine form going into the qualifiers, taking her maiden ITF tournament victory in March when she defeated Russia's Elena Chalova in the $10,000 event in Gran Canaria.

And former British No 1 Jo Durie is convinced it's not all doom and gloom for the Bristol-based youngster after she bowed out at Roehampton.

"She has the capability of playing the big tournaments and players – she just has to work hard and believe in herself from now on in," said Bristol-born Durie, who won the Wimbledon mixed doubles title alongside Jeremy Bates in 1987.

"Getting the chance to play in qualifying for the main draw and actually have the opportunity to compete at Wimbledon is a great opportunity – players bounce back from not quite making it."

● Life assurance and pensions company AEGON is lead partner of British Tennis and is backing the sport at all levels, from grass roots to world class tennis events. For tickets and further information visit www.lta.org.uk.