Unseeded Emma Raducanu is set for a very tricky opener at the Australian Open after suffering a setback and being forced to miss Auckland due to a back injury.
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On Thursday, the draw for this year's Happy Slam was released and the 2021 US Open champion learned that she would take on world No. 27 Ekaterina Alexandrova in round one.
For the 22-year-old and the Russian, it will be their first meeting.
if Raducanu manages to make it past Alexandrova and also wins her second-round match, she would then likely take on No. 2 seed Iga Swiatek.
As you can see, it is a pretty tough draw right from the start and the current world No. 60 reaching the second week at the Australian Open will be all but easy.
It was a rough start to 2025 for Raducanu, but can she make something positive in Melbourne?
The former world No. 10 arrived in New Zealand early, only to pull out of the event on the day of her scheduled first-round match because of a back issue.
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While she has been practicing for days at Melbourne Park, she is lacking match fitness and that is never a good thing.
I constantly set goals and re-evaluate but for next year my outlook and approach is genuinely just like exploring how far I can go, how much of my potential I can reach, Raducanu explained in Auckland.
I dont think its like a one year yeah, Ive hit it, you know, Im going to hit it all this year. [Ive] got myself into a place where I can get into tournaments with my ranking and now its just about pushing on and seeing how far I can go.
In each of the past three years, she picked up second-round losses at the Australian Open.
It remains to be seen if the 22-year-old can at least go a step further this year.
