Having played just one professional match on grass prior to this week at Roehampton, Maria Camila Osorio Serrano can be forgiven for not knowing exactly how to handle herself on the surface.
“I don’t even know what I’m doing, I’m just playing,” she said, bursting into laughter after claiming a second consecutive three-set victory to reach the final round of Wimbledon Qualifying.
The No.1 in the ladies’ draw, Osorio Serrano – known as Cami to family and friends – is looking to become just the fifth Colombian woman to feature in a Wimbledon main draw, and the first since Mariana Duque Marino in 2018.
The 19-year-old is coming off an outstanding campaign on clay that included a maiden WTA title, on home territory in Bogota, as a wild card last April. She also reached the semi-finals in Charleston and Belgrade, and qualified for her first Grand Slam at Roland-Garros last month.
It took her only six WTA main draw appearances to crack the top 100 and she arrived in south-west London with her highest career ranking, No.94.
A vocal and fiery player with an infectious energy and passion for tennis, Osorio Serrano has been gradually adjusting to the grass this week, one ‘vamos ahora’ at a time (‘come on now’ is one of her preferred ways of pumping herself up on court).
“Usually, when I’m playing [on clay], I play a little bit far from the baseline and I go with my forehand, like topspin, change my rhythm and run from side to side. But here on grass, my coach told me just to get closer to the baseline, and hit it more flat and change the rhythm, hit a lot of first serves. That’s pretty much it,” she said.
The adjustments to her game have paid off with battling wins over Liang En-Shuo and Panna Udvardy to set up a Qualifying third round clash with 29-year-old Spaniard Nuria Parrizas Diaz.
“I’m a little surprised actually because I haven’t practised too much on grass courts, so it’s been a little hard to get used to the surface,” Osorio Serrano admitted.
“But I feel I’m doing great, I’m enjoying every point that I’m playing. It’s different but sometimes you need to get out of your comfort zone so you can be a champion. I guess I just try to do my best, even if it’s not my surface. I’m happy and proud of what I’ve been doing these few days.”
Less than two years ago, Osorio Serrano reached the No.1 ranking on the junior circuit after lifting the US Open girls’ singles trophy in New York.
The transition to the pros proved more challenging than she expected but she has finally found her footing and is enjoying every second of the journey.
“To be honest, last year wasn’t that great because I had a lot of expectations with myself,” she said.
“At the beginning of 2020, I thought, because I won the US Open [in 2019], turning professional I would win all the matches and all the tournaments, and I remember losing like six first rounds in a row.
“I was like, ‘I don’t want to play, this is too hard’. And I remember that was tough because from No.1 in the world and everyone is saying, ‘You’re the future in Colombia’, sometimes it’s tough.
“But somehow I just kept believing and gradually I’ve been trying to get there. This year, the jump that I made, I cannot believe that I did it, so I’m so happy.”
She is now one victory away from realising a lifelong dream and competing at the All England Club against the best players in the world.
“Every kid that starts playing tennis wants to play Wimbledon. All the Grand Slams are really special but this one is something unique,” said the teenager, who is coached by Ricardo Sanchez, who formerly worked with Jelena Jankovic and Caroline Wozniacki, among others.
“I remember when I played my first Wimbledon juniors, I was crying when I was walking to the court because it’s really, really special and it means a lot to me.”
