Oxford's Lucy Brown admitted her first appearance at Wimbledon this week was “unbelievably nerve-wracking”.

But she said her debut was a never-to-be-forgotten experience, and if she can return to the All England Club’s famous grass courts next year, she’ll be better prepared.

The 16-year-old former Gosford Hill School pupil was given a late-entry wild card to the girls doubles on Tuesday.

Teaming up with fellow Brit Elisha Gabb, the duo were knocked out 6-1, 7-5 in the first round by Nicole Gibbs, of the United States, and Camila Silva, from Chile.

Chosen to play on Wimbledons prestigious Court 14, the British girls suffered from a bout of the jitters.

“We were both really nervous and that didn’t help.

“The first few games were quite close but we still found ourselves 3-0 down and it was an uphill struggle after that.

“In the second set, we got a bit of rhythm but once they got to the tie-break they dominated it and we were beaten.”

They lost the tie-break 7-3.

Brown added: “It’s the first time I’ve played here and it was unbelievably nerve-wracking. I was fine before the game, but once I got on court, it was completely different.

“I know what to expect now and hopefully I’ll be more prepared next year.”

Brown’s form heading into Wimbledon had been far from ideal after she suffered back-to-back singles defeats in Roehampton last week.

The world No 282 suffered first-round exits in the AEGON Junior International and Wimbledon qualifying.

Brown insists she can play her way back to form when she travels to Egypt this month for an ITF junior tour event.

“I’ve lost my last few matches and that is a bit disappointing. I’m building on my game and I just want to keep playing as much as I can.

“I just want to improve my ranking as much as possible so I can come to tournaments like Wimbledon and be strong.”

Leading life assurance and pensions company AEGON are lead partner of British Tennis and are backing the sport at all levels, from grassroots to world-class tennis events. For further information visit www.lta.org.uk