New Delhi: British No.1 Emma Raducanu has been drawn against teenager Mimi Xu in an all-British first-round match at Wimbledon. Raducanu is currently ranked 38th in the world and just fell short of a seeding for the Championships.
Raducanu has landed in the toughest draw along with British leading men’s player Jack Draper, as seven-time champion Novak Djokovic is a potential opponent for the World No.4 as the tournament kicks off on Monday at the All England Club.
If the 22-year-old manages to beat Xu, she will face either 2023 champion Marketa Vondrousova or 32nd seed McCartney Kessler in the second round. In the third round, she could potentially face World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka, who is in search of her first-ever grass-court title at the All England Club. Before that, she will take on the qualifier Carson Branstine in her first match.
Raducanu has never been past the fourth round, and if she is to reach at least the quarterfinals, she will have to do it the hard way. She has played twice on grass before Wimbledon. She made the quarterfinals at Queen’s in the singles while teaming up with compatriot Katie Boulter for “Boultercanu” in the doubles, following that up with a round-of-16 defeat to 19-year-old Maya Joint at the Eastbourne Open.
Not just her, all British players have received tough draws, with Katie Boulter set to take on Paula Badosa while British No.3 Sonay Kartal will face 20th seed Jelena Ostapenko. The other two 16-year-old wildcards, Hannah Klugman and Mika Stojsavljevic, will face US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez and Ashlyn Krueger, respectively.
The bottom quarter could feature some big-hitting contests in the second week, with Iga Swiatek potentially facing former champion Elena Rybakina and a quarterfinal against French Open winner Coco Gauff.
Meanwhile, defending champion Barbora Krejcikova will take on Alexandra Eala in the opening match, but the Czech star needs to recover from a leg injury in time.
