Emma Raducanu and Naomi Osaka learn their fate for first matches of 2025 season as Auckland draw revealed

Ewan West 28 Dec 2024 10:29 AM

Emma Raducanu and Naomi Osaka will start their seasons in Auckland

The draw for the women’s event at the 2025 ASB Classic in Auckland has been made, with Emma Raducanu and Naomi Osaka two of the headline names set to feature.

Main draw action at the WTA 250 tournament in New Zealand will run from December 30 to January 5. World No 3 Coco Gauff was the two-time defending champion, but she will not compete at this year’s edition after instead choosing to play at the United Cup.

The eight seeds in the 32-player singles draw are: Madison Keys (1), Elise Mertens (2), Amanda Anisimova (3), Lulu Sun (4), Clara Tauson (5), Raducanu (6), Osaka (7) and Katie Volynets (8).

Raducanu has landed in the top half of the draw and will take on unseeded 20-year-old American Robin Montgomery, who is currently ranked 117th, in the opening match of her 2025 campaign.

The 22-year-old Brit would then face either Jule Niemeier or a qualifier in the second round, before a potential quarter-final meeting with Lulu Sun, who she was beaten by in the fourth round of the 2024 Wimbledon Championships.

If Raducanu were to reach the semi-finals in Auckland, she may play top seed Madison Keys or Clara Tauson, while Elise Mertens, Amanda Anisimova and Naomi Osaka are all potential final opponents.

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Raducanu, the world No 57, is looking to win her second WTA Tour title having not reached a final since her stunning victory at the 2021 US Open.

Osaka, meanwhile, is seeking to end a title drought of almost four years as her most recent tournament win was her triumph at the 2021 Australian Open — her fourth Grand Slam crown.

The 27-year-old Japanese star will play a qualifier in her opening round match in Auckland, while she would meet either Julia Grabher or another qualifier in the second round.

The world No 58 could then face Mertens in the quarter-finals, Anisimova in the last four and any of Keys, Sun, Tauson or Raducanu if she reaches the title match.