2 days Ago By James Orr
EMMA RADUCANU gets her Wimbledon campaign up and running after a two-year absence. But the US Open champion has been hit by a late change of opponent. Raducanu - who missed the 2023 Championships as she recovered from triple surgeries - was due to face Ekaterina Alexandrova.
But the 22nd seed Alexandrova pulled out with illness on Monday morning. So Raducanu will now play Mexican Renata Zarazua second up on Centre Court. Renata Zarazua is a 26-year-old Mexican tennis player who is currently ranked world No 98.
Zarazua was deemed a "lucky loser" after falling in the third round of qualifying to reach the tournament. This year is the first time that Zarazua has qualified to play in the first round of Wimbledon. Though she qualified to play in the first round of both the Australian Open and the French Open this year.
Zarazua heads into Wimbledon in good form, having picked up her first WTA Challenger title this year in February, wining the Puerto Vallarta Open in her home country of Mexico. And she reached the semi-finals at the Nottingham Open two weeks ago, losing to British No1 Katie Boulter in a three-set clash. Zarazua also featured for Mexico in Tokyo Olympics in 2021, losing in the first round to Japan's Misaki Doi.
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Prize money for the 2024 Wimbledon Champi.
