How to watch the final day of Wimbledon qualifying

While the All England Club remains quiet for a few more days, down the road at the Wimbledon Qualifying and Community Sports Centre there is plenty of noise.

By close of play on Thursday, 16 men and 16 women will have won three qualifying matches to seal their place in the main draw at Wimbledon, overcoming the physical and mental challenge of battling for a place in the sport’s oldest tournament.

Stepping into the site in Roehampton, you don’t feel as if you are stepping into a qualifying event. This is a tournament in its own right and a mammoth event at that.

It is also a golden opportunity for British players, with five British men and an equal number of female players given the opportunity to challenge for a chance to play on the biggest stage in tennis, courtesy of wildcards awarded by the LTA.

Fans are flocking to temporary stands and grass embankments in one of the hottest weeks of the year, watching a total of 256 players vying for those precious qualifying spots.

The event is bigger than ever with larger stands around the courts and even new food stalls; fans can treat themselves to Lebanese wraps, calamari and toasties, alongside traditional Wimbledon staples such as Pimms and strawberries and cream.

Amid the energy off court, on court there’s a melting pot of generations, youth and experience all playing with the same goal.

At one end of the spectrum, you have 17-year-old Luca Pow, a Brit playing in Grand Slam qualifying for the first time, making his tentative first steps in the senior game.

Pow is one of many promising players emerging from the LTA’s National Academy set-up at Loughborough, led by lead coach Nick Cavaday and his team of who provide a professional training environment for players aged