Who is Ekaterina Alexandrova? Emma Raducanu’s Wimbledon Round 1 opponent
Ekaterina-Alexandrova
All eyes were on who Emma Raducanu drew in the opening round of Wimbledon, with the British wildcard – and former Grand Slam champion – one of the biggest names in action.
And the 2021 US Open champion has landed an intriguing draw against 22nd seed Ekaterina Alexandrova, with the 29-year-old neither the best nor the worst player Raducanu could have landed against.
With this match taking place on Centre Court on Monday, we take you through all you need to know about the Russian ahead of this encounter.
Grass-court pedigree
There are not too many grass-court specialists in the modern game, but Alexandrova may be one of them.
The Russian has won four career titles and two of them have come on grass, winning back-to-back titles in ‘s-Hertogenbosch in 2022 and 2023.
She beat Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets to claim the title in 2022, before battling past compatriot Veronika Kudermetova in three sets to win the final a year ago.
Alexandrova was unable to defend her title in 2024 but still reached the semi-final, losing to eventual champion and another compatriot in the form of Liudmila Samsonova.
It is clear that she is comfortable on the surface, with the best Grand Slam run of her career coming at Wimbledon in 2023.
Alexandrova reached the second week of a major for the first time at SW19 twelve months ago, beating Emma Navarro, Madison Brengle, and Dalma Galfi before a loss to Sabalenka.
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2024 giant-killer
Alexandrova is by no means cowered by taking on the biggest names in the game, with three wins over opponents ranked inside the world’s top five already in 2024.
Back in January, she became the first person to defeat Elena Rybakina this season, downing the former Wimbledon champion in straight sets at the Adelaide International.
A few months later she impressed on her way to the semi-final of the Miami Open, knocking out two big stars on her way to the last four.
She stunned world No 1 Iga Swiatek in straight sets in the fourth round, before defeating world No 5 Jessica Pegula from a set down in the last eight.
In total, Alexandrova has an impressive 14 top-10 wins across her career – so will likely not be fazed by taking on a player currently outside the world’s top 100.
Poor Grand Slam form
2024 has been a solid season overall for the world No 22, with a 17-16 win-loss record, and her Miami run and a final in Linz among her highlights
However, after a consistent Slam season in 2023 – reaching at least the third round at every tournament – she has struggled at the majors this season.
After her win over Rybakina the previous week, 17th seed Alexandrova was considered one to watch at the Australian Open, but was beaten in a third-set tiebreak by Laura Siegemund.
It was a similar story at the French Open when, seeded 16th, she was beaten in straight sets by Viktoriya Tomova in her opening match.
Alexandrova is now on a three-match losing streak at majors, and may well be struggling for confidence at Slams.
With a good grass season behind her – as well as a supportive home crowd – Raducanu will fancy her chances of claiming an impressive scalp in round one.
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