27-06-2025
Welsh teen Mimi Xu to face Emma Raducanu in Wimbledon first round
Welsh teen Mimi Xu to face Emma Raducanu in Wimbledon first round
Wales has its first representative in the main draw of a single's tournament at Wimbledon for two decades
Mimi Xu hails from Swansea
(Image: 2025 Getty Images )
British tennis star Emma Raducanu will begin her bid for Wimbledon glory by taking on Welsh teenager Mingge (Mimi) Xu in the first round.
Seventeen-year-old Xu, from Swansea, is the first Welsh singles player involved in the main draw at Wimbledon for 20 years, with the last being Rebecca Llewellyn in 2005.
Raducanu, whose triumph in the 2021 US remains her only Grand Slam title win, has never progressed beyond the quarter-finals stage at the All England club, and was last year knocked out in the last 16 by New Zealand's Lulu Sun.
This year's tournament starts on June 30, and Raducanu's preparations have already been hit by a disappointing defeat to teenager Maya Joint in the second round at Eastbourne this week.
The 22-year-old lost 4-6 6-1 7-6 (7-4) to the Australian 19-year-old, and admitted she needed to rest up ahead of next week's curtain-raiser.
"Unfortunately I couldn't get over the line today but I can get some rest ahead of next week," she said after her latest defeat.
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"I feel quite tired. Just going through some stuff and I need to do my best to get my head in the game ahead of next week.
"Realistically, the turnaround is pretty soon - it's only four days away really that Wimbledon starts.
"I think I'm just going to start with [a day off] tomorrow and then hopefully I can get on the court on Friday."
Welsh teenager Xu, in contrast, will have nothing to lose coming into this eye-catching first-round contest.
Xu, who hails from Swansea has been handed a wildcard into this year's tournament as she climbs the international rankings on the back of a reasonably successful summer. Having previous picked up a first-round win at the Nottingham Open against American Katie Volynets, she also reached the quarter-finals of the Birmingham Open, as well as the second round of the Ilkley Open.
She is currently ranked 302nd on the WTA tour, having started playing tennis at the age of three at the Swansea tennis and squash club.
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A hard court specialist, Xu attended the her interests outside tennis include playing the piano, studying and baking.
Xu attended the LTA National Academy in Loughborough and now trains at the LTA National Tennis Centre in Roehampton, wihich coincidentally enough is also the base for Raducanu, as well as Britain's number one men's player Jack Draper.
This year's Wimbledon will be her first appearance in the main draw of a Grand Slam, with the winner set to face 2023 champion Marketa Vondrousova or 32nd seed McCartney Kessler in the second round.
