Emma Raducanu’s next opponent at Italian Open: Who is Veronika Kudermetova?
Emma Raducanu has produced her best run at the Italian Open, but she will hope it doesn’t end in the third round when she takes on Veronika Kudermetova.
Following her second-round exit from the Madrid Open at the hands of Marta Kostyuk just over a fortnight ago, Raducanu has now gone one better in Rome as she beat qualifier Maya Joint – currently ranked No 78 – in the first round before brushing aside world No 94 Jil Teichmann in her next match.
But a stiffer challenge awaits next as she will face former world No 9 Kudermetova for a place in the quarter-final.
But who is Veronika Kudermetova?
Sporting family
Kudermetova’s father, Eduard Kudermetov, is a former Russian ice hockey champion as he won two Russian Superleague titles.
Both his daughters are professional tennis players as the younger Kudermetova, the 19-year-old Polina, is currently No 57 in the WTA Rankings.
Veronika married her tennis coach and former player Sergei Demekhine, who peaked at No 673 in the ATP Rankings, in 2017.
Demekhine coached former world No 2 Vera Zvonareva and mentored her to runners-up trophies at Wimbledon and the US Open in 2010. His working relationship with Zvonareva ended in 2011 and the following year he started coaching Kudermetova.
Veronika Kudermetova’s current status
The 28-year-old has had a difficult 2025 so far as she is yet to reach the last eight of a tournament with her best run coming at the Australian Open where she made it to the round of 16 before losing against Elina Svitolina.
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She started the year at No 72 and currently sits at No 50 in the WTA Rankings – up from No 52 following a couple of wins at the Madrid Open last time out.
Kudermetova defeated wildcard Lucrezia Stefanini in the first round and then upset 15th seed Amanda Animisova.
She has a 20-12 win-loss record so far in 2025.
The Russian’s career highlights
Kudermetova won her maiden WTA singles title at the 2021 Charleston Open and, after finishing runner-up in her next four finals, she won trophy No 2 at the Pan Pacific Open in 2023.
Her best run at a Grand Slam was a quarter-final at the 2022 French Open while in 2023 she reached the semi-final of both the Madrid Open and Italian Open.
Kudermetova’s career record in clay (before Rome 2025) is 44–28 (61%), compared to 96–81 (54%) on hard courts and 22–13 (63%) on grass.
She has some big scalps to her name as she beat the likes of Coco Gauff, Daria Kasatkina, Jessica Pegula, Aryna Sabalenka and Aryna Sabalenka in 2023.
Head-to-head with Raducanu
It will be a first career meeting between Kudermetova and Raducanu and the winner will likely face Coco Gauff in the quarter-final.
When is the match?
The Kudermetova- Raducanu third-round encounter is set for Sunday, May 11, at the SuperTennis Arena at Foro Italico.
It is the second match of the day at the SuperTennis Arena as it will follow the 11am (local time) Alexei Popyrin-Daniil Medvedev clash. So between 12:30 and 13:00.