Who is Emma Raducanu's Wimbledon 2024 1R opponent Ekaterina Alexandrova? All you need to know about the Russian player

Emma Raducanu will face Ekaterina Alexandrova in the first round of Wimbledon after the much-anticipated draw was made on Friday. The 21-year-old is one of Britain's biggest hope of success at the Championships this year.

Raducanu's road to glory at Wimbledon won't be easy as she has received a wildcard at the tournament. The former US Open champion is set to face some of the biggest names on the tour throughout her potential run to the final, which begins against Ekaterina Alexandrova in round one.

This will be the first clash between the duo on the WTA tour. Here is everything you need to know about the Russian star Ekaterina Alexandrova.

Who is Ekaterina Alexandrova?

Ekaterina Alexandrova is a Russian tennis star born on November 15, 1994. She has been living in Czech since 2006 and is eligible to play for the Czech Republic as well, but has opted to represent Russia. Alexandrova grew up idolizing Steffi Graf and considers the German superstar her idol.

Alexandrova has won four WTA titles so far in her career. The 29-year-old has been one of the best-performing Russians on tour in recent years, while also being the top-ranked Russian women's player in the WTA rankings in 2019.

Alexandrova won her first WTA 125 title in 2016 when she won the Open de Limoges. The Russian has followed it up with four WTA singles titles, with her biggest one coming against Elena Rybakina at the 2020 Shenzhen Open. Later, Alexandrova won the Libema Open in 2022 before defending her title a year later. In between her Libema double, the 29-year-old also won the Seoul Open in 2022.

The Russian reached her career-high ranking of 15 at the start of April 2024, but a poor French Open has dropped Alexandrova to No. 22 in the current WTA rankings.

Ekaterina Alexandrova had a promising start to her 2024 season, reaching the semifinals in Adelaide. However, the Russian was knocked out in the first round at the Australian Open. Later, the 29-year-old reached the final in Linz, where she lost to Jelena Ostapenko, and since then, Alexandrova has struggled to make a mark for herself.

Despite her impressive semifinal run in Miami, the Russian failed to continue her form as she was knocked out in the first round of four consecutive tournaments at Charleston, Stuttgart, Madrid, and Rome. Alexandrova's poor form continued at the French Open as she was knocked out in the opening round.

Alexandrova will need to drastically improve her poor record at Grand Slams to mount a surprise at Wimbledon. The 29-year-old reached the fourth round at Wimbledon in 2023, her best performance at Grand Slam to date. However, her recent form and record on grass court suggests another difficult Grand Slam outing for the Russian. With a buoyant home crowd supporting Emma Raducanu, Alexandrova will start as an underdog against the Brit star.