Emma Raducanu to face former US Open champion Sloane Stephens at Wimbledon warm-up in Eastbourne

Emma Raducanu will face fellow former US Open champion Sloane Stephens in the first round at Eastbourne next week.

Raducanu is continuing her preparations for Wimbledon, where she has been given a wild card, at the Rothesay International on the south coast.

The 21-year-old will be making her first appearance at Wimbledon in two years, following wrist and ankle surgery last year.

Raducanu reached the semi-finals of the Rothesay Open in Nottingham last week before losing out to British No 1 Katie Boulter, having skipped the French Open in order to prepare for the grass-court season.

American Stephens won the US Open in 2018, three years before Raducanu’s shock victory.

Fellow Brit Harriet Dart faces Czech world No 23 Marie Bouzkova, while Boulter will meet a qualifier.

Elena Rybakina, Jessica Pegula, Jasmine Paolini and Madison Keys are the four top seeds and all receive a bye to the second round, with Pegula facing the winner of Raducanu’s clash with Stephens.

Wimbledon fitness concerns for WTA Tour stars?

Aryna Sabalenka and Ons Jabeur became the latest top-10 players to retire from the Berlin Open due to injury or illness, after former Wimbledon champions Rybakina and Marketa Vondrousova also withdrew this week.

Sabalenka was forced to retire from her quarter-final against Russia’s Anna Kalinskaya due to shoulder pain when the Belarusian trailed 5-1 in the opening set. It marked the first time in her WTA Tour carer that Sabalenka had retired from a match because of injury.

Kalinskaya has reached the semi-finals with two walkovers after Wimbledon champion Vondrousova slipped and fell during their last-16 match, forcing the Czech player to retire.

Jabeur, meanwhile, was involved in a 72-minute opening set in her quarter-final with Coco Gauff, which the American won 7-6(9), before Jabeur was seen getting her temperature checked before she retired.

“It doesn’t feel like a win, especially because we had such a great first set. I wish Ons the best,” Gauff said after reaching the semi-finals. “I think it’s something that’s just going to happen today and she’ll feel better tomorrow. I think she’ll be strong at Wimbledon.”

On Friday, Rybakina withdrew due to illness, sending Belarusian Victoria Azarenka through to the semi-finals. Rybakina was visibly struggling with what appeared to be abdominal pains.

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