Wimbledon: Emma Raducanu and Jack Draper receive tough Wimbledon draws, as Serena Williams learns comeback opponent
Emma Raducanu and Jack Draper handed difficult Wimbledon draws; Serena Williams learned her comeback opponent as she gears up for first Slam in four years; watch the ATP and WTA Tours live on Sky Sports Tennis and Sky Sports+, streaming service NOW and the Sky Sports app
Friday 26 June 2026 17:05, UK
Emma Raducanu could face world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the Wimbledon third round after the draw for the Grand Slam was made on Friday.
First 30th seed Raducanu, who remains an injury doubt for the grasscourt major which starts on Monday, must come through a tricky opponent in the opening round as she faces Croatia's Antonia Ruzic.
Jack Draper was also handed a tough opening match against No 6 seed Taylor Fritz. The pair have faced each other five times previously on the ATP Tour, with Draper edging their head-to-head.
Should Raducanu advance, she could also set up an all-British tie against Harriet Dart if she defeats Jelena Ostapenko in her first-round match.
- Latest scores, results and upcoming matches
- Download Sky Sports app for analysis, news and video
- Not got Sky? Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract
Fears have been mounting over Raducanu's fitness heading into the tournament, after she missed a scheduled practice session on Thursday and was spotted wearing a protective boot on her right foot on Wednesday evening.
Raducanu and Sabalenka squared off in a thrilling third-round encounter at last year's All England Championships, but the Brit was defeated by the Belarusian 7-6 (8-6) 6-4.
No 1 seed Sabalenka is also out to win her first Wimbledon title and will commence her tournament against Serbian Teodora Kostovic.
Serena's return to singles and doubles
Elsewhere, Serena Williams will return to Wimbledon following a four-year absence, and has been drawn against world No 53 Maya Joint.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion, who accepted a wild card for this year's tournament, has not played professionally since losing to Australian Ajla Tomljanovic at the 2022 US Open.
The 44-year-old made her competitive return to the court during the ladies' doubles at Queen's Club alongside Victoria Mboko, before partnering with Karolína Muchová at the Berlin Open.
Joint, meanwhile, debuted at the All England Championships last year, but was knocked out in the first round by Liudmila Samsonova.
The Williams sisters are wild card entries in the women's doubles and will play their first-round match against Colombia's Camila Osorio and Solana Sierra of Argentina.
Serena and Venus have won 14 Grand Slam titles together in doubles, including six at Wimbledon - the first in 2000 and the last in 2016. Their first two doubles titles at the All England Club, in 2000 and 2002, came as wild cards.
Defending Wimbledon champion Iga Swiatek will commence her tournament against Taylor Townsend.
Sinner and Djokovic on collision course
In the men's singles draw, seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic has drawn China's Yibing Wu in the first round.
Should he progress, the Serbian could set up a repeat of the 2023 men's singles final in the second round against Stefanos Tsitsipas, who has suffered a dip in form over the last 12 months, dropping to No 88 in the ATP Tour rankings.
Djokovic is on the same side of the draw as the defending champion and world No 1 Jannik Sinner, Daniil Medvedev and third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime.
French Open champion Alexander Zverev appears to have landed in the more favourable side of the draw, but could face some tricky opponents down the line, including Ben Shelton, Fritz and Alex de Minaur.
Sinner will begin his title defence on Monday against world No 54 Miomir Kecmanović.
Should he advance, he is projected, on seedings, to face Medvedev in the quarter-finals, while Auger-Aliassime could square off against Djokovic.
On the other side of the draw, De Minaur, who has never advanced past the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam, could face world No 4 Shelton, while Fritz is projected to face Zverev in the other quarter-final tie.
Brits learn their first-round opponents
Katie Boulter will start her tournament by facing 18-year-old Tyra Grant, while Fran Jones will square off against Dianne Parry.
Seventeen-year-old wild card Mika Stojsavljevic received a very difficult opening round draw and will face world No 12, Belinda Bencic.
Cameron Norrie, meanwhile, will face off against 17-year-old qualifier Michael Zheng in his first match at Wimbledon.
Zheng reached the second round of the Australian Open earlier this year and will be a tough opponent for the Brit, who was knocked out in the opening round of Queen's last week by Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
Arthur Fery, who was knocked out of Eastbourne on Wednesday by Juan Manuel Cerundolo, will play world No 104 Damir Dzumhur, while Toby Samuel has been handed another difficult first-round tie against No 15 seed Jakub Mensik.
Watch the ATP and WTA Tours, live on Sky Sports or stream with NOW and the Sky Sports app, giving Sky Sports customers access to over 50 per cent more live sport this year at no extra cost. Find out more here.
