Who is Emma Raducanu’s first opponent at the Ningbo Open? 230th-ranked Chinese wildcard Zhu Lin
Emma Raducanu is set to return to action in Ningbo after her concerning withdrawal at the Wuhan Open, but who will the Brit play in her opening round match?
The world No 30 was trailing 46th-ranked Ann Li 1-6, 1-4 in her first round match at the WTA 1000 event in Wuhan when she was forced to retire due to physical issues.
Soaring temperatures and high humidity in Wuhan made conditions at the tournament extremely challenging, and the ‘heat rule’ was in effect during the first two days of main draw action.
It was particularly brutal for matches played during the day, as Raducanu’s was, and the Brit struggled throughout the contest.
Raducanu called for the doctor and had her blood pressure checked when she was 1-4 down in the second set, and she decided not to continue.
The 22-year-old raised concerns over her participation in Ningbo when she revealed she had then needed to visit the doctor’s in Wuhan, but she is still due to appear at the WTA 500 tournament.
Raducanu will face Zhu Lin in Ningbo
Raducanu’s first opponent in Ningbo will be Zhu Lin, a 230th-ranked Chinese player competing as a wildcard.
Zhu Lin was born on 28 January, 1994 in the city of Wuxi in southern Jiangsu, China.
Her father Zhu Jiangming works in finance and introduced her to tennis at the age of four, while her mother Chen Yunqi is a travel agent.
Zhu has an aggressive playing style, and according to her WTA bio, her favourite shot is her forehand, while her tennis idol was Martina Hingis.
The 31-year-old reached her career-high ranking of world No 31 in September 2023 after reaching the final of the Japan Women’s Open WTA 250 tournament.
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Zhu won her only WTA Tour singles title at the 250 event in Thailand in February 2023, while she was a runner-up at the same event in 2024.
Her best Grand Slam result is reaching the fourth round at the 2023 Australian Open.
The Chinese has a 2-10 record against top 10 players, with her two wins coming against Maria Sakkari and Caroline Garcia in 2023.
Zhu dropped as low as 493rd in the WTA Rankings earlier this year having been forced to cut short her 2024 campaign due to an elbow injury.
Prior to Ningbo, she competed at the WTA 1000 events in Beijing and China.
Zhu defeated Moyuka Uchijima 6-1, 6-3 in the first round in Beijing before losing 2-6, 2-6 to Mirra Andreeva in her second match. In Wuhan, Zhu fell 5-7, 6-7(10) to Maya Joint.
This will be the first meeting between Raducanu and Zhu.
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