Wimbledon: Emma Raducanu, Andy Murray and Serena Williams learn first-round opponents
- Published
- comments
Andy Murray, who reached the Wimbledon third round last year, is aiming to recover from an abdominal injury that he suffered in the Stuttgart Open final
Wimbledon 2022 on the BBC |
|---|
Venue: All England Club Dates: 27 June-10 July |
Coverage: Live across BBC TV, radio and online with extensive coverage on BBC iPlayer, Red Button, Connected TVs and mobile app. Full details here |
British number one Emma Raducanu has been drawn against Belgium's Alison van Uytvanck in the Wimbledon first round.
The 19-year-old, who is seeded 10th, practised at the All England Club on Friday but missed a second session planned later on Court One.
Two-time champion Andy Murray, who is trying to overcome an abdominal injury, faces Australia's James Duckworth.
Serena Williams starts her return to singles action after a year out against French debutant Harmony Tan.
The 40-year-old American made her comeback in the Eastbourne doubles this week but has not played singles since she was injured at Wimbledon last year.
Top seed Iga Swiatek plays Croatian qualifier Jana Fett as she aims to continue her dominance of the WTA Tour.
The world number one, who won the recent French Open for a sixth title in a row, has been handed the honour of opening Tuesday's play on Centre Court.
Usually that is traditionally given to the defending women's champion, but Australia's Ashleigh Barty retired earlier this year.
Poland's Swiatek, 21, is aiming for a 36th straight win and could face British wildcard Sonay Kartal, who starts against Montenegro's Danka Kovinic, in the second round.
Tunisian third seed Ons Jabeur, who played with Williams at Eastbourne before pulling out with a knee injury, faces Swedish qualifier Mirjam Bjorklund.
Romanian 16th seed Simona Halep, who has not played at Wimbledon since winning the 2019 title and was another candidate to start Tuesday's play on Centre Court, has a tough opener against Czech Karolina Muchova.
Eastbourne 2022: Serena Williams & Ons Jabeur through to semi-final
How has the draw panned out for Raducanu and Murray?
Raducanu is set for her first Wimbledon since winning the US Open, but has seen her preparations hampered by a side injury in recent weeks.
The teenager has won eight of the 19 matches she has played so far this season and experienced a string of minor injuries.
World number 46 Van Uytvanck has won two grass-court titles already this month and is one of the toughest opponents Raducanu could have drawn.
Raducanu could face another British player, wildcard Yuriko Miyazaki, in the second round, with Katie Swan also drawn in the same section.
American 19th seed Madison Keys is a potential third-round opponent.
Unseeded Murray, 35, avoided a seeded player in the first round and will meet Duckworth for a second time in his opening match at a major after beating him in the 2018 US Open.
He could face big-serving American John Isner in the second round, with Italian 10th seed Jannik Sinner - who faces Swiss wildcard Stan Wawrinka in a far-from-ideal opener - potentially waiting in round three.
Both Raducanu and Murray will play on Monday.
Who are the other Brits playing?
British men's number one Cameron Norrie, seeded ninth, starts against Spain's Pablo Andujar as he aims to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time.
The 26-year-old left-hander has faced some tough draws at the majors recently and could meet Bulgaria's 18th seed Grigor Dimitrov in the third round.
Dan Evans, the only other British seed, plays Australian qualifier Jason Kubler.
Fourteen other British players are in the main draws of the singles and not one faces a seeded player in the first round.
However, British wildcard Paul Jubb plays Australia's Nick Kyrgios in one of the most eye-catching matches.
Full draw for the British players | |
|---|---|
Andy Murray v James Duckworth (Aus) | Sonay Kartal [WC] v Danka Kovinic (Mon) |
Jay Clarke [WC] v Christian Harrison [Q] (US) | Harriet Dart v Rebeka Masarova (Spa) |
Cameron Norrie [9] v Pablo Andujar (Spa) | Katie Boulter [WC] v Clara Burel (Fra) |
Ryan Peniston [WC] v Henri Laaksonen (Swi) | Katie Swan [WC] v Marta Kostyuk (Ukr) |
Jack Draper v Zizou Bergs [WC] (Bel) | Yuriko Miyazaki [WC] v Caroline Garcia (Fra) |
Liam Broady [WC] v Lukas Klein [Q] (Svk) | Emma Raducanu [10] v Alison van Uytvanck (Bel) |
Paul Jubb [WC] v Nick Kyrgios (Aus) | Heather Watson v Tamara Korpatsch (Ger) |
Dan Evans [32] v Jason Kubler [Q] (Aus) | Jodie Burrage [WC] v Lesia Tsurenko (Ukr) |
Alastair Gray [WC] v Tseng Chun-hsin (Tpe) | |
What else happened in the men's singles draw?
Defending champion Novak Djokovic, who starts against Kwon Soon-woo, has been drawn in the opposite half to Queen's champion Matteo Berrettini.
That means Berrettini, seeded eighth, is a potential semi-final opponent for Spain's Rafael Nadal, who starts against Argentina's Francisco Cerundolo.
Nadal, 36, is playing Wimbledon for the first time since 2019 as he looks to follow his victories at the Australian Open and French Open with a first title at SW19 since 2010.
Analysis
BBC tennis correspondent Russell Fuller
Alison van Uytvanck represents one of the toughest starts imaginable for Emma Raducanu: the Belgian already has 12 wins on the grass, while the US Open champion has been limited to just seven games on the match court.
If Andy Murray is fully fit, he should not have too many complaints about his potential first week opponents. He is in the same half of the draw as Novak Djokovic, but they could not meet before the quarter-finals.
Serena Williams has not played a singles match for a year so Harmony Tan, who is outside the top 100, looks a decent draw. And if Williams, Simona Halep, Coco Gauff, Petra Kvitova and Karolina Pliskova survive the opening couple of rounds, there could be some heavyweight contests in this section of the draw.
Rafael Nadal, meanwhile, has Matteo Berrettini, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Stefanos Tsistipas for company in his half of the draw, which - at least on paper - creates a very challenging path to the third leg of the calendar Grand Slam.
Ancient Egypt's ultimate 'yummy mummy': She reigned for over 20 years but why did history try to erase her?
Boost your memory and heart health: Find out how a nap could slash your risk of heart attack by half and have an impact on your brain
