Emma Raducanu faces a potentially tough second-round match against reigning Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova at the upcoming HSBC Championship at Queen`s Club, which begins on Monday.
Raducanu, aged 22, is set to play a qualifier in her opening match. A victory would potentially set up the clash with Krejcikova, assuming the Czech player wins her first-round encounter against Rebecca Sramkova of Slovakia.
This tournament marks Raducanu`s first competitive appearance since her second-round exit at the French Open last month, where she lost to Iga Swiatek in straight sets.
The 2021 US Open winner achieved her best clay-court results by reaching the last 16 in Rome and Strasbourg. She is now shifting focus to the grass season, with plans to compete at Queen`s and Berlin before Wimbledon starts in early July.
The draw for the inaugural HSBC Championships, which took place on Saturday, also saw British No. 1 Katie Boulter drawn against a qualifier for her first match.
Should Boulter win her opening match, she would face either Diana Schnaider or Magdalena Frech in the second round.
Other British players participating in this home grass-court event include Francesca Jones, who plays American McCartney Kessler in the first round. A win for Jones could see her meet world No. 7 Qinwen Zheng in the second round.
Sonay Kartal faces Daria Kasatkina in her opening match, with a potential second-round encounter against fellow Brit Jodie Burrage, who is drawn against Amanda Anisimova.
Queen`s Club is back on the WTA calendar after 52 years. Qinwen Zheng is the highest-ranked player in the draw following the withdrawal of world No. 3 Jessica Pegula last week.
Pegula, the 2024 US Open runner-up, was initially the top seed but pulled out on Thursday, as did four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka of Japan.
The top four seeds – Zheng, Madison Keys, Emma Navarro, and Elena Rybakina – have all received byes into the second round.
The tournament is scheduled to take place from June 9th to June 15th.
LTA Commits to Equal Prize Money
The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) has pledged to achieve equal prize money for female players at the Queen`s and Eastbourne tournaments by 2029.
The LTA announced on Thursday that the total prize money for the Queen`s event this year will be $1.415m (around £1m), making it the highest prize fund for a WTA 500 tournament of its size this season.
However, this amount is still less than half of the prize money offered to male players at the equivalent ATP Tour event held the following week.
The disparity is even more pronounced at the Lexus Eastbourne Open, a combined WTA and ATP event taking place the week before Wimbledon (starting June 23rd). The women`s prize fund is $389,000 (approximately £287,000), significantly less than the over £630,000 allocated for the men`s tournament.
While Grand Slams and some combined events offer equal prize money, compensation on the WTA Tour is generally much lower than on the ATP Tour.
Scott Lloyd, the LTA`s chief executive, stated, “We are making significant increases this year to the women’s prize money at Queen’s and Eastbourne and want to achieve equal prize money as soon as possible.”
