Latest news with #MinggeXu
The Independent
18 hours ago
- Sport
- The Independent
Who is Mingge Xu? Emma Raducanu's first-round Wimbledon opponent in profile
Four summers ago, Emma Raducanu was the British teenager aiming to become Wimbledon champion. This summer, she will be trying to stop a British teenager at the first hurdle: Mingge Xu. This year's Wimbledon draw paired Raducanu, 22, with Xu, 17, in the first round, as Raducanu begins her latest bid to add to her 2021 US Open triumph. Raducanu endeared herself to tennis fans at Wimbledon 2021 while making a fine run to the fourth round, before surpassing that achievement in September of the same year, when she won her first – and so far only – grand slam, the US Open. Raducanu has struggled for consistency since, and her deepest run at SW19 remains the fourth round, which she reached again last year, while she enters this summer's Wimbledon on the back of a second-round exit at the last major, the French Open. In any case, she has considerably more grand-slam experience than Xu, who has been handed a wildcard to play at a major for the first time on the pro tour. Swansea's Xu – the first Welsh player in the main singles draw at Wimbledon in 20 years – reached the junior Australian Open quarter-finals last year and junior US Open semi-finals, showing promise along the way. But her meeting with Raducanu comes at an altogether tougher level, and in front of a much greater audience. Still, Xu's Wimbledon debut follows her encouraging wildcard run at the Birmingham Open this June, where she stunned top seed Alycia Parks, the world No 52, in the first round. Xu went on to reach the quarter-finals of the WTA 125 tournament, ultimately losing to Jessika Ponchet. Then, later in June, Xu notched another win over a top-100 player, beating world No 96 Katie Volynets in the first round of the Nottingham Open. However, Xu was defeated by sixth seed Magda Linette in the next round. Xu's current ranking on the WTA tour is her highest so far: 318th in the world. Meanwhile, Raducanu is the British No 1 on the women's tour and is currently ranked at No 38 in the world, having been as high as No 10 in 2022. Raducanu enters her clash with Xu on the back of a quarter-final at Queen's, where she was beaten by top seed Qinwen Zheng, and a second-round exit in Eastbourne, where she was eliminated by Maya Joint. Ahead of her Eastbourne opener, Raducanu praised Wimbledon for banning a man who had stalked her from buying tickets to the grass-court grand slam. The man in question had been following her at several events over the last year. He was handed a restraining order by police in Dubai after turning up at the Dubai Tennis Championships and appearing at Raducanu's match, a moment that left her afraid and in tears. But Wimbledon's security system raised a red flag after the man's recent attempt to buy tickets for SW19 this year, with the application subsequently rejected. 'Wimbledon did an amazing job,' Raducanu told the BBC. 'I got a notification, and the police contacted me and assured me that everything was okay. 'I feel okay, I feel comfortable and safe. I've had great protection whenever I've been at these events recently. I feel a difference, and that makes me feel more comfortable.'
The Independent
18 hours ago
- Sport
- The Independent
Emma Raducanu will face British teen at Wimbledon while Katie Boulter handed tough test
Emma Raducanu will face 17-year-old wild card Mingge Xu in an intriguing all-British first round match-up at Wimbledon. British No 1 Raducanu, who narrowly missed out on a seeding, has been handed a difficult path to the second week. The 22-year-old could face 2023 champion Marketa Vondrousova or 32nd seed McCartney Kessler in the second round, with world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka a potential opponent in round three. Raducanu was knocked out of the Eastbourne Open in the second round on Wednesday and acknowledged, amid a tough year which has included a stalking ordeal, that she needs to get her 'head in the game' ahead of The Championships. 'I feel quite tired,' she said. '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.' Raducanu is due to practice on Court 1 with 2022 Wimbledon winner Elena Rybakina. Elsewhere in the women's singles draw, British No 2 Katie Boulter will face ninth seed Paula Badosa from Spain in a tough opening test. British No 3 Sonay Kartal will face 20th seed and Grand Slam winner Jelena Ostapenko, with 16-year-old hotshot Hannah Klugman facing 29th seed Leylah Fernandez – who Raducanu beat in the 2021 US Open final. Other notable first round contests include second seed Coco Gauff, who won the French Open earlier this month, taking on highly-rated Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska and two-time champion Petra Kvitova – in her final Wimbledon – facing 10th seed Emma Navarro. Sabalenka, who beat Raducanu at Indian Wells last year in their only previous match, takes on Canadian qualifier Carson Branstine in round one. Defending champion Barbora Krejcikova will face Alexandra Eala from the Philippines. British first round matches – women's singles: Emma Raducanu vs Mingge Xu Katie Boulter vs Paula Badosa (9) Hannah Klugman vs Leylah Fernandez (29) Harrie Dart vs Dalma Galfi Sonay Kartal vs Jelena Ostapenko (20) Jodie Burrage vs Caty McNally Heather Watson vs Clara Tauson Fran Jones vs Yuliia Starodubtseva
Telegraph
18-06-2025
- Sport
- Telegraph
Three British teenagers handed Wimbledon wildcards
Hannah Klugman and Mika Stojsavljevic, a pair of British 16-year-olds with rich potential, have been granted wildcards to play in the main draw of Wimbledon in 10 days' time. Both these players have reached finals at junior slam level in the last year, with Stojsavljevic winning September's US Open in apparently nerveless style while Klugman finished as runner-up at the recent French Open. Also on the list is Mingge Xu, who is slightly older at 17, but who claimed a maiden victory at WTA Tour level on Tuesday when she overcame world No 96 Katie Volynets at the Nottingham Open. These three teenagers have been making waves on the junior circuit for some time. History suggests that it is beneficial to be part of a strong cohort of juniors, so that your contemporaries function as both rivals and sparring partners. Emma Raducanu is a direct contemporary of fellow top-50 player Sonay Kartal, although two other girls – Holly Fischer and Kylie Bilchev – seemed just as likely to make it for much of the 2010s. Wimbledon wild cards are a valuable currency, especially now that first-round losers' prize money has climbed to £66,000. The lists released by the All England Club on Wednesday morning show 14 British names for the main singles draws – seven men and seven women – along with one overseas player: double Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova from the Czech Republic, who is making her return from maternity leave aged 35 and is ranked outside the world's top 500. The women's list also includes such familiar names as Heather Watson, Jodie Burrage, Harriet Dart and Fran Jones, while former top-30 player Dan Evans – who is due to play Brandon Nakashima on Wednesday at Queen's Club – is the best-known of the male beneficiaries. Also featured are Jay Clarke, Oliver Crawford, George Loffhagen, Johannus Monday, Jack Pinnington Jones and Henry Searle – the last of these being the 19-year-old who won the Wimbledon boys' championship in 2022. Who are the three British teenagers making their Wimbledon debuts? Hannah Klugman (born February 18, 2009) Klugman, 16, grew up in Wimbledon as part of a well-heeled family and received coaching in her younger years from Alison Taylor, wife of 1973 Wimbledon semi-finalist Roger Taylor. She made the headlines in December 2023 when she won the prestigious Orange Bowl under-18 event in Florida at just 14 years old. No British girl had ever claimed that title before. More recently, she has been coached by the experienced Ben Haran, who also contributed to Jack Draper's development. Mika Stojsavljevic (born December 15, 2008) Lives in Acton, west London, and idolises Maria Sharapova. At September's US Open, she became the first British girl to win a junior slam since Laura Robson triumphed at Wimbledon in 2009. The daughter of eastern European parents, her father is a London-born Serb while her mother is from Poland. Like Sharapova, she is a tall player with a big game, while her backhand is a particularly pure strike. While Stojsavljevic, 16, was not as much of a phenomenon in the younger age-groups as Klugman – who developed unusually early – she has come to prominence since turning 14. Minggee Xu (born October 2, 2007) Xu s tarted playing tennis as a child in Swansea before moving to the National Tennis Academy in Loughborough. She is coached by fellow Welsh national Matthew James, a former coach of Emma Raducanu. The 17-year-old has an excellent CV at junior level after becoming the youngest player to enter Junior Wimbledon in 2021 before winning the LTA National Championships a year later. She has previously teamed up with Stojsavljevic in doubles, losing in the final of the girls' tournament at Wimbledon last year and won on her WTA main-draw debut in Nottingham this week beating Katie Volynets 6-3, 6-3 in under 90 minutes.
Reuters
17-06-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
Boulter leads British charge at Nottingham Open
June 17 (Reuters) - Defending champion Katie Boulter defeated New Zealand's Lulu Sun 6-2 6-2 at the Nottingham Open on Tuesday as four Britons advanced to the last 16. Joining eighth seed Boulter were Mingge Xu, Sonay Kartal, and Francesca Jones, though Boulter and Kartal are set to face each other in the next round. "I've played enough of them now. It's just another match for me. I have so much respect for Sonay, she's an incredible tennis player," said Boulter. "I've always said to her that she's going to pass my ranking. I know how good she can be and dangerous. We actually played a really close match on grass quite a few years ago so I know it's going to be an absolute battle." Boulter, currently on an 11-match winning streak at her home tournament, is aiming to become the first player in Nottingham Open history to claim three consecutive titles. The 17-year-old Xu beat American Katie Volynets 6-3 6-3, setting up a clash with Polish sixth seed Magda Linette, who overcame Filipino Alexandra Eala 6-4 6-3. Jones defeated compatriot Harriet Dart 7-5 6-4 and will now face Czech seventh seed Linda Noskova. Slovakia's Rebecca Sramkova battled past Germany's Laura Siegemund 7-6(2) 4-6 7-6(6) and is set to meet fourth seed Yulia Putintseva. The winner between top seed Beatriz Haddad Maia and American McCartney Kessler will take on China's Zhu Lin, while Canadian fifth seed Leylah Fernandez will play Spain's Cristina Bucsa, who defeated Yuliia Starodubtseva 6-3 6-3.
