Raducanu to face British teenager Xu at Wimbledon
- BBC News
Emma Raducanu reached the Wimbledon fourth round last year
Wimbledon 2025
Dates: 30 June-13 July Venue: All England Club
Coverage: Live across BBC TV, radio and online with extensive coverage on BBC iPlayer, Red Button, Connected TVs and mobile app. Full coverage details.
Emma Raducanu has been drawn against teenage wildcard Mimi Xu in an eye-catching all-British first-round match at Wimbledon.
British number one Raducanu, ranked 38th in the world, fell just short of a seeding for the championships and has been handed a difficult-looking draw.
World number four Jack Draper, who starts against Argentinas 38th-ranked Sebastian Baez, also faces a daunting path.
Seven-time champion Novak Djokovic, bidding for a standalone record 25th major singles title, is a potential quarter-final opponent for Britains top-ranked man.
British qualifier Oliver Tarvet, who cannot claim prize money because he is still a college player in the United States, could meet defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in the second round.
Last years womens champion Barbora Krejcikova, who withdrew from Eastbourne this week with a thigh injury, is set to start her title defence against 20-year-old Alexandra Eala of the Philippines.
Raducanu and Draper lead a total of 23 British players in the singles draws - the highest amount since 1984.
Seven of the British contingent have qualified directly through their world rankings, with 15 handed wildcards and Tarvet the sole qualifier.
The grass-court Grand Slam begins at the All England Club on Monday.
If Raducanu beats 17-year-old Xu, she will face either 2023 champion Marketa Vondrousova or 32nd seed McCartney Kessler in the second round.
The 22-year-old could potentially face world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the third round.
Hannah Klugman and Mika Stojsavljevic – the two other British teenagers given wildcards – have also been handed tough draws against seeded players.
Klugman, 16, faces Canadian 29th seed Leylah Fernandez – who Raducanu memorably beat to win the 2021 US Open.
US Open junior champion Stojsavljevic, also 16, starts against American 31st seed Ashlyn Krueger.
In total, there are 10 British players in the womens singles draw - and half of them have been pitted against seeded players.
Katie Boulter, who Raducanu replaced as the nations leading player earlier in June, has been drawn against Spanish ninth seed Paula Badosa.
British number three Sonay Kartal faces Latvian 20th seed Jelena Ostapenko, while 33-year-old Heather Watson - also given a wildcard - plays Danish 23rd seed Clara Tauson.
Draper, who has practised on Centre Court this week, is the highest seeded Briton since Andy Murray in 2017
When Draper regained his place as world number four following his run to the Queens semi-finals, it was a significant moment.
As fourth seed, Draper was guaranteed to avoid world number one Jannik Sinner or two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz – the heavy favourites for the title - until at least the semi-finals.
Draper, however, was quick to urge caution about placing too much importance on the seeding until the draw was made - and he has been proven right.
If he beats Baez, Draper could face 2017 finalist Marin Cilic and 28th seed Alexander Bublik - who beat the Briton at the French Open and has since won the Halle title - in the second and third rounds.
Czech 15th seed Jakub Mensik, a huge server who could be a serious threat on grass, is a prospective fourth-round opponent before the looming spectre of sixth seed Djokovic or Australian 11th seed Alex de Minaur in the last eight.
British number two Jacob Fearnley has been drawn against much-hyped Brazilian teenager Joao Fonseca, while 2022 semi-finalist Cameron Norrie faces Spanish veteran Roberto Bautista Agut, who also reached the last four here in 2019.
Tarvet, 21, starts against another qualifier in Switzerlands Leandro Riedi.
Mens singles:
Womens singles:
* WC denotes wildcard
Russell Fuller, BBC tennis correspondent
The draw has not been kind to the 23 Britons - only four will face lower ranked opponents in the first round and half of the women have drawn seeds.
Boulter and Kartal have horrible draws: Boulter against the top 10 player Badosa and Kartal against a Grand Slam champion in Ostapenko, who has two grass court titles to her name.
And Raducanu will be very wary of 17-year-old Xu, who has already beaten two top-100 players on the grass this summer.
Raducanu, Draper, Evans and Fearnley are the only players who will go into their first round matches with a higher ranking than their opponents - and Fearnley faces the Brazilian hotshot Fonseca.
But rankings can be deceptive on the grass, and home support is not to be underestimated.
Alcaraz and Djokovic, bidding for an eighth title which will match Roger Federers mens record, practised together on Thursday
Mens singles:
Womens singles:
By BBC Sports Ask Me Anything team
The top 32 players in the mens and womens singles rankings are given seedongs before the draw.
The seedings correspond to their world ranking - so the world number one would be the top seed, and so on. But if, say, the world number 10 withdrew from the tournament, the world number 11 takes their place as 10th seed.
Seeded players are assigned specific spots in the draw which means it is impossible for them to meet another seeded player until later in the tournament.
With 128 players in each singles draw, that leaves 96 players unseeded, including wildcards and qualifiers.
A computer randomly draws who these players will face in their first-round matches.
