Australian Open draw: Emma Raducanu on early collision course with Iga Swiatek
Share:
Emma Raducanu will hope to start the new tennis season strongly as she faces Ekaterina Alexandrova, the 26th seed, in a challenging but winnable first-round match at the Australian Open after being unable to compete in the opening week of the season due to a back injury.
![[Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray laugh during a training session at Melbourne Park]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/1dc22bbf665c0d6e0955c11a82e610937f772bdb/273_0_4113_2940/master/4113.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Since travelling to Melbourne, Raducanu has trained normally on the tournament grounds and has looked in good shape during her public training sessions. On Tuesday, Raducanu competed against the 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina in a practice set on Rod Laver Arena, which she won.
Raducanu has been drawn into Iga Swiatek’s section of the singles draw and the pair could face each other in the third round. Swiatek, the No 2 seed, will begin her tournament against the doubles No 1 Katerina Siniakova. This tournament will mark Swiatek’s first major event since being banned for one month after testing positive for the banned substance trimetazidine, which she successfully proved was a case of contamination with her melatonin medication. Swiatek has been handed a solid draw as she looks to win her sixth grand slam title.
British No 1 Katie Boulter, the 22nd seed, also appears in Swiatek’s bottom half, where she has been handed a favourable draw. Boulter will open her tournament against the big-serving Rebecca Marino of Canada and the highest-ranked player in her section of the draw is the 15th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia. Fresh off a career-best 2024 season and a brilliant performance against Swiatek in the United Cup, Boulter is seeking her first grand slam fourth round this week in Melbourne.
