Harmony Tan, 24, made headlines on June 28 when she won Wimbledon against the legendary Serena Williams, 40. The professional tennis player, who’s from France, took home the victory in the first round match with a score of 10-7, leaving Serena fans devastated. Since it was Serena’s first time back to singles tennis after a year-long break and Harmony’s first time playing at Wimbledon, all eyes were on the two women as they battled it out on the court, but it was Harmony who wowed everyone when she came out on top.
"She's beaten a legend."
After three hours, 10 minutes, Harmony Tan beats Serena Williams in a first round epic#Wimbledon | #CentreCourt100 pic.twitter.com/IQst8AzXxv
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) June 28, 2022
Shortly after the match, Serena took to Instagram to admit the battle between her and Harmony was “intense” and although she didn’t win it, she “enjoyed” her time on the court. “That was insane and intense. Not the result I came for, but my goodness I enjoyed that. I hope you did as well. Onward and up. ☺️☺️,” she wrote alongside a photo of her waving to the Wimbledon crowd.
So, who is Harmony? Find out more about the athlete and how she got this far in tennis below!
Harmony is ranked at world No. 90 in the rankings from the Women’s Tennis Association.
As of 2022, the skilled star has won eight singles titles. She also comes in at world no. 302 in doubles, and has one doubles title on tournaments of the ITF Women’s Circuit. Harmony’s tennis career has had its ups and downs over the years.
She first made her doubles debut at the 2017 French Open when she received a wildcard to enter, but she and her partner Audrey Albie lost the first-round match. She went on to make her WTA Tour and Grand Slam main-draw singles debut at the 2018 U.S. Open, where she also entered on a wildcard, but she again lost her first-round match. She had a better outcome when she made her main-draw singles debut on the WTA Challengers Tour in 2019 and won her first- and second-round matches before losing to Taylor Townsend in May 2019.
When she stepped out on the Wimbledon court against Serena, the match could have gone either way, but Harmony won after a deciding super tiebreak had her recover from 0-4 down to win with 10-7.
She is from Paris, France.
Harmony comes from the “city of love” and is of Chinese, Cambodian, and Vietnamese descent. She appears to be able to speak both French and English, but it’s unknown if she speaks any additional languages.
Harmony made headlines for leaving the Australian Open in a wheelchair.
Get well soon, @tanharmony ❤️ @elinasvitolina advances after Harmony Tan retires due to injury at 6-3, 5-7, 5-1.#AusOpen · #AO2022 pic.twitter.com/2IIIVzxvrB
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 19, 2022
She was taken from Melbourne’s Margaret Court Arena in the wheelchair after retiring halfway through her second-round match with Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina. She was battling a calf injury and tried to go on throughout the match but couldn’t help but succumb to the pain when it became unbearable. She was cheered on by applause from the crowd for her efforts as she got emotional and was wheeled away.
She received a lot of online support after her first Wimbledon win.
Fabulous match. How good was Harmony Tan she just didn't give up'
— chiliosp (@chiliosp) June 28, 2022
“What an inspiration,” one Twitter user shared while tagging the tennis champ in a tweet on June 28, 2022. “Amazing and totally deserved win for Harmony Tan! New talent; an outstanding young player!” another exclaimed. “Props to Harmony Tan on an amazing match,” a third wrote, while many others wished her a “Congratulations.”
Harmony admitted to being ‘really scared’ during her match with Serena at Wimbledon.
"When I saw the draw, I was really scared." 😅
You were fearless on the court, Harmony Tan 👏#Wimbledon #BBCTennis pic.twitter.com/rHa2zu1kl3
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) June 28, 2022
The humble young sports star answered questions from reporters after her tremendous win and revealed she was “really scared” because Serena’s “a legend” in tennis. “I was like, ‘How can I play?,'” she said in one of the interviews, which can be seen above. “If I can win one game or two games, it was really good for me.”