- British player reaches second round with 7-6 (0), 6-3 win
- Original opponent, Ekaterina Alexandrova, withdrew
Few tennis players fully understand the importance of taking advantage of opportunities like Emma Raducanu. Her transcendent 2021 US Open triumph, after all, was an exercise in spectacularly rising to the occasion as various factors fell in her favour. Her life has never been the same since.
With the last-minute withdrawal of her scheduled first-round opponent, the 22nd seed Ekaterina Alexandrova, the opening day of her third Wimbledon potentially presented another. Raducanu walked on to Centre Court as the heavy favourite in her opening match, rather than the underdog, and although she struggled with the weight that comes with those expectations early on, the 21-year-old held firm to reach the second round of Wimbledon with a tough 7-6 (0), 6-3 win against the lucky loser Renata Zarazúa.