Marketa Vondrousova: Emma Raducanu’s next Wimbledon opponent relates to struggles as a Grand Slam champion
Marketa Vondrousova and Emma Raducanu faced off in the opening round of the Abu Dhabi Open earlier this year. Their next match might attract a little more attention.
After an opening-round win against Mimi Xu on Monday, Raducanu will be forced to turn her attention towards a blockbuster clash against Vondrousova, a former Wimbledon champion.
It has been two years since Vondrousova lifted the title at the All England Club, stunning Ons Jabeur to become a surprise Grand Slam champion, much like her next opponent did at the 2021 US Open.
Both women were wildcards into the Abu Dhabi draw, and both have since turned a significant corner after the Czech’s 6-3, 6-4 triumph at the WTA 500 event.
“She [Raducanu] was actually playing really good match there,” reflected Vondrousova on her Abu Dhabi win.
“I feel like she’s getting better and better. She’s very high in the rankings. I feel like she’s coming back where she belongs.
“I feel like she’s a great player. She has both a strong forehand, backhand. She’s really very, very great player.
“It was a tough match there. I expect tough one on Wednesday. We’ll see. I’m just very happy to be back and have these kind of matches.”
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Vondrousova has a narrow 2-1 lead in their head-to-head, though it was Raducanu who triumphed when they met at this tournament four years ago.
Raducanu defeated the Czech 6-2, 6-4 back in 2021, a win that was perhaps the first to attract significant attention in an extraordinary, life-changing summer for the eventual US Open winner.
Runner-up herself at the 2019 French Open, Vondrousova tasted her own Grand Slam success at the All England Club in 2023, becoming Wimbledon’s first-ever unseeded women’s singles champion.
However, as her opponent can surely relate to, life after Grand Slam success has not always been too kind to the 26-year-old.
Vondrousova initially soared to a career-high of world No 6, but 2024 saw her deal with the death of her grandfather, the breakdown of her marriage, and the return of injury issues that previously plagued the early stages of her career.
The Czech sustained an injury at the Berlin Open just weeks before her SW19 title defence, and she ultimately became the first reigning women’s champion in 30 years to fall in round one, beaten by Jessica Bouzas Maneiro.
Hand and shoulder injuries have plagued Vondrousova over the past year, forcing her to miss the 2024 US Open and 2025 Australian Open, alongside a large chunk of the clay season.
“It was a tough year. I didn’t play for such a long time,” added the Czech.
“I had surgery last year. It was a tough battle [against Bouzas Maneiro]. I was injured. I got injured in Berlin, so it was kind of like so-so.
“I have great memories from two years back and then not so great from last year. Overall, I love this tournament. I have great, great memories of it.
“I’m just really trying to enjoy every match, because you know, it really looked bad with my shoulder a couple of months ago, so I didn’t even know if I can be here again on the court.
“Now I take it match by match, and I’m just trying to really enjoy everything here and grateful to be back.”
Vondrousova rounded into superb form earlier this grass swing, beating Aryna Sabalenka in this year’s Berlin Open semi-finals before downing Wang Xinyu in the final.
It was just the third WTA title of her career and her first since winning Wimbledon, and it propelled her back inside the top 100 of the WTA Rankings.
Returning to Wimbledon, Vondrousova was dominant early on against 32nd seed McCartney Kessler, herself a champion on grass in Nottingham.
She wobbled late on but held her nerve to close out a 6-1, 7-6(3) victory, extending her winning run on grass to six matches ahead of facing Raducanu, a match in which some would consider the former champion the favourite.
“I’m very happy to be through this match, and I felt like I was playing a good match since beginning. Then she [Kessler] was playing some amazing games, so I’m very happy I finished in the second set.
“Overall I feel like I’m healthy now. I’m playing without any pain, so I’m really enjoying that. Very grateful to be here and to be in this tournament again.”
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