Wimbledon 2026: Meet Tyra Caterina Grant - born in Italy, forged in the USA and inspired by Serena Williams

There will be a new name in a Grand Slam main draw at Wimbledon 2026: Tyra Caterina Grant.

At 18-years-old, the Italian tennis starlet makes her major debut at the Championships after coming through three rounds of qualifying in the gruelling London heat.

Home hope Katie Boulter awaits in round one for Grant, who is representing her U.S.-Italian roots on the grass courts of south-west London. It is the perfect place to play her first major main draw match, drawing inspiration from Wimbledon seven-time singles champion Serena Williams.

“My mum saw Serena play on grass when I was three years old, and that's why I started playing,” said Grant (via Wimbledon). “Growing up, I feel like I’ve been compared to [Serena] a lot, so I’ve always looked up to her.”

Ahead of her Championships debut on Tuesday (30 June), get to know the Italian teenager rising up the ranks.

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Wimbledon 2026 – Tyra Caterina Grant’s Roman upbringing

Grant was born in Rome, Italy, on 12 March 2008 to a sporting family; her Italian mother a tennis teacher, her U.S. father a basketball player. She even trained with men’s world No. 1 Jannik Sinner as a child, remaining friends to this day.

"I had the chance to see him growing up and developing while I was growing up and developing," she said to the WTA. "That was great for me, seeing him daily, before knowing that he would become what he's becoming. Just seeing a person [who] trains so hard and does the right things."

Dual nationality made the tennis starlet eligible to play for both nations, and Grant has done exactly that. From 2021 to 2025, she competed under the Stars and Stripes of the USA before switching allegiance to Italy’s Tricolore 13 months ago.

Four months later, Grant was part of the squad that defended the Billie Jean King Cup title in Shenzhen. She is now the seventh highest-ranked female singles player in the country, and the 18-year-old continues to embrace both cultures, even if she has separate music playlists for each language.

Though she was born in the Italian capital, Grant’s football (soccer) allegiances lie towards the Dolomites with Juventus, the Turin club inviting her to their game against Milan last October.

Grant can embody the Bianconeri (literally ‘The White and Black’) at Wimbledon with the white dress code, and perhaps she can be a dark horse upon her maiden main draw appearance.

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