Sunday, December 22, 2024

Wimbledon women’s draw: Emma Raducanu to play Ekaterina Alexandrova, Iga Swiatek and Naomi Osaka handed tough routes – Eurosport

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Emma Raducanu will face 22nd seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in her first-round match at Wimbledon 2024, with No. 1 seed Iga Swiatek handed a tough opener as the draw was made on Friday.

Swiatek will take on 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin, with wild card Naomi Osaka – set to start against Diane Parry – also finding herself in a loaded section of the draw.

For Swiatek, who has been tipped for glory at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, a maiden triumph at the All England Club would represent a significant fillip ahead of her return to the red clay of Roland-Garros.

The 23-year-old has a mouthwatering projected quarter-final showdown against the defending champion and sixth seed, Marketa Vondrousova.

As a wild card, Raducanu was always going to have a tough draw on her hands, with the 29-year-old Alexandrova having reached the fourth round at SW19 last year.

In the other standout matches, British No. 1 Katie Boulter will take on Tatjana Maria, while last year’s champion Vondrousova will begin against Jessica Bouzas Maneiro.

Another intriguing quarter-final projection by seeding sees Coco Gauff, who will take on Caroline Dolehide in the first round, tipped to face Jasmine Paolini, whose stunning run at Roland-Garros took her all the way to the final.

Meanwhile, 2022 champion Elena Rybakina, who is the No. 4 seed this year, could take on Jessica Pegula in their quarter of the draw at the last-eight stage, and third seed Aryna Sabalenka may be up against Qinwen Zheng.

Selected first-round ties

  • Fran Jones [WC] vs Petra Martic
  • Alja Tomljanovic vs Jelena Ostapenko [13]
  • Marketa Vondrousova vs Jessica Bouzas Maneiro
  • Katie Boulter vs Tatjana Maria
  • Harriet Dart vs Zhuoxuan Bai [Q]
  • Emma Raducanu vs Ekaterina Alexandrova [22]
  • Iga Swiatek [1] vs Sofia Kenin
  • Tamara Korpatsch vs Yuriko Lily Miyazaki [WC]
  • Mirra Andreeva [24] vs Brenda Fruhvitrova
  • Aryna Sabalenka [2] vs Emina Bektas
  • Heather Watson [WC] vs Greet Minnen
  • Victoria Azarenka [16] vs Sloane Stephens
  • Naomi Osaka [WC] vs Diane Parry
  • Sonay Kartal [Q] vs Sorana Cirstea
  • Coco Gauff [2] vs Caroline Dolehide
Stream daily highlights from Wimbledon at 10pm UK time, as well as the two singles finals live on July 13 and 14, on discovery+

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