Who will Emma Raducanu face in Wuhan Open Round 1? Top 50 star Ann Li
There are not as many firsts for Emma Raducanu on the WTA Tour as there once used to be, but the former US Open champion gears up for a brand-new experience this week: her Wuhan Open debut.
After losing to Jessica Pegula in the third round of the China Open — the second straight event where she has lost despite holding match points — the 22-year-old will be looking to bounce back in style at the final WTA 1000 event in Wuhan, and continue her recent progression up the WTA Rankings.
Raducanu could again face Pegula in the Wuhan third round this week, but first has a test against US star Ann Li, a player who has been building a confident run of form in recent months. Here is all you need to know about the Brit’s first-round opponent.
Who is Ann Li?
Born in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, to Chinese parents in June 2000, Li was a promising junior tennis player, reaching the girls’ singles final at Wimbledon in 2017.
The American’s sole WTA title came at the Tenerife Ladies Open in October 2021, defeating Camila Osorio in the final, though she has reached three finals across the past twelve months.
The 25-year-old was the runner-up to Zeynep Sonmez at the Merida Open in October 2024, the Singapore Open runner-up to Elise Mertens this February, and the Tennis in the Land runner-up to Sorana Cirstea back in August.
Reaching the final in Cleveland, before defeat to Cirstea, continued what had been a strong few months for Li, who reached the second round of both Wimbledon and the French Open for just the second time in her career.
And, she will have approached the Asian swing full of confidence after making the second week of a major for the first time at the US Open this summer.
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Li beat Rebecca Sramkova, 16th seed Belinda Bencic, and Priscilla Hon on her way to the fourth round, where she fell to fourth seed Pegula.
She returned to her career-high ranking of world No 44 in September, having previously been ranked that high in January 2022, and is ranked 47th in the world heading into Wuhan.
What is Raducanu and Li’s head-to-head?
Raducanu and Li have only met once previously — and you don’t have to look back too far to find that encounter.
The pair met at the WTA 250 Eastbourne Open back in June, in what was the final pre-Wimbledon warm-up event for both women this summer.
Raducanu struggled early on that contest but ultimately battled her way to a 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-1 triumph on home soil.
When will Raducanu and Li play their match?
As of now, we do not yet know when exactly Raducanu and Li will play their opening-round match.
However, we do know that they will take to court on Tuesday, with their contest not scheduled on Monday’s order of play at the WTA 1000 event.
Action on Tuesday will start at 11:00 local time, which will mean a 04:00 start UK time, or 23:00 (Monday) start time on the US east coast.
Raducanu and Li’s match will be scheduled anytime after that point on Tuesday.
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