British tennis star Emma Raducanu will now face lucky loser Renata Zarazua in the first round of Wimbledon on Monday after 22nd-seed Ekaterina Alexandrova withdrew due to illness.
Raducanu was handed a wildcard to compete at this year’s Championships and faced a tricky opening match against Russian star Alexandrova, with the 21-year-old describing herself as a ‘underdog’ who’d be ‘over the moon’ with a victory.
Her match is scheduled second on Centre Court today – day one of Wimbledon 2024 – but instead of Alexandrova, Raducanu now plays Zarazua, with the former pulling just 34 minutes after the All England Club gates opened in SW19.
It is a considerably easier match for Raducanu, who is desperate for a deep run at her home Grand Slam after she missed last year’s Championships due to injury.
It should be noted, though, that Mexico’s world No.98 Zarazua is still above Raducanu in the WTA rankings and the Briton still has a big job to do to progress.
Raducanu, who tasted Grand Slam glory at the US Open in 2021 and was ranked in the world top 10 a year later, is currently down at No.135 after her long period of inactivity in 2023 due to long-term injury issues and subsequent triple surgery.
‘I’m very happy to be back here,’ Raducanu said on Saturday. ‘I’ve missed this tournament so much.
‘I just feel very grateful to have the opportunity and the wildcard to be able to compete here.
‘I obviously have amazing memories from 2021 (reaching the fourth round on her debut). Yeah, it’s an amazing place to be.’
Former British No.1 Tim Henman firmly believes that Raducanu can make the second week of Wimbledon this year.
Raducanu, though, appears to think Henman is setting the bar too high and would be happy enough with just reaching the second round.
The Brit has been in fine form on the grass this year, reaching the Nottingham Open semi-finals and Eastbourne International quarter-finals ahead of SW19.