Emma Raducanu handed tough Wimbledon first-round draw on return to SW19

Emma Raducanu will take on Russian No.22 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in the first round at Wimbledon.

The 21-year-old is set to appear at the All England Club next month. It will be her first outing at Wimbledon since 2022. Raducanu, the former US Open champion, missed last year’s edition after undergoing surgery on both wrists and her ankle. And after the draw, she has been handed a testing start.

She will take on Alexandrova in the opening round of the competition. Raducanu though will be hopeful of some bright form after reaching the semi-finals of the Nottingham Open.

She has already expressed her excitement at getting the opportunity to finally play at Wimbledon. Speaking to Sky Sports ahead of the tournament, she said: "I have a big joy for playing in the UK, I missed it last year, obviously, and it's nice - you kind of forget the feeling,"

"I think you would push your body further to play over this period of time. I think all of us (British players) really live for it, we come alive, we put our clay shoes in the bin pretty early and then get on the grass. We do push ourselves more for this and understand the implications that may or may not come with it."

Elsewhere in the draw, world number one ranked Iga Swiatek will take on American star Sofia Kenin. Raducanu’s fellow Brit Katie Boulter opens her tournament against Tatjana Maria.

Boulter is seeded for the first time at Wimbledon. The winner of their clash will take on Harriet Dart in the second round. Raducanu and Boulter will not come head to head in the tournament until the latter rounds having been placed in opposite sides of the draw. They previously met at the semi-finals at the Nottingham Open.

Ekaterina Alexandrova

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Opening up on rediscovering her form, Raducanu added: "I'm just really into it at the moment. I just love the sport, I love tennis. t's taken over me and I've really rekindled a light in the fire inside of me.

"I'm really grateful to have this feeling again because it's something that I feel I've been missing in a way for the last few years and I haven't felt this good about my tennis - just excited about it and passionate - for a long, long time.”

Raducanu’s best Wimbledon finish was in the fourth round in 2021 but she came unstuck against Ajla Tomljanović. She then followed that up with a second round exit in 2022.

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