“My mum’s getting messages” – How Emma Raducanu, Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic & Aryna Sabalenka’s Wimbledon 1R opponents have reacted to their draw

Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Aryna Sabalenka, Emma Raducanu and other leading stars of the sport have gathered in London for Wimbledon 2025. The tournament gets underway from Monday, June 30, and the draws were revealed on Friday, June 27.

It’s usually expected that top players will clear the first hurdle, especially since they face players ranked far below them in a 128-player draw. That’s bad news for most of these lower-ranked players, who could certainly use the points and prize money by going at least one round further at a Major.

First-round opponents of these top players have reacted in a myriad of ways following the release of the Wimbledon draw. Alexandre Muller, who’s already on a four-match losing streak, is up against 24-time Major champion Novak Djokovic in the first round.

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Muller took to X (formerly Twitter) to express his feelings on his rather brutal first-round showdown, finding an appropriate reaction from the sitcom The Office to do the same.

Carson Branstine came through the qualifying rounds to book her spot in the Wimbledon main draw. Her reward is a first-round date with World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka. She faced top seed Lois Boisson in the first round of qualifying and took on top seed Liudmila Samsonova in the first round of the Libema Open two weeks ago. She couldn't help but laugh at her luck, hoping for better draws in the future.

"Maybe one day I’ll get a good draw LOL," - Branstine on X.

Fabio Fognini, who hasn't won a match this year, is slated to meet two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in the first round. The Italian didn't look too worried about his upcoming match and shared a warm moment with the Spaniard when they crossed paths at the venue, with Djokovic dropping by as well.

British teenager Mingge Xu, who's set to make her Grand Slam debut at Wimbledon, is a rising young talent. She had a funny story of how she eventually found out about her first-round opponent.

Mingge Xu excited about facing compatriot Emma Raducanu in her Wimbledon opener

Mingge Xu hadn't immediately checked the Wimbledon 2025 draw upon its release. She started to get messages from her coach and mom regarding how amazing her draw is, though no one informed her of her opponent. She then checked out the draw herself to discover her opponent was Emma Raducanu.

"It's really funny, this one actually because I was actually moving to my airbnb at like 10:05 I think, and then I get a message from my coach saying, 'what an amazing draw, so exciting'. I'm like.. 'but I haven't seen the draw'. My mum's getting messages saying, 'such an exciting draw, such a good draw for her to go out there and really play', and I'm like, 'who am I playing?' So I'm just scrolling and trying to find out who I'm actually playing and I end up seeing I'm playing Emma," Xu said.

Xu was quite complimentary of Raducanu and got to know her quite well during the Billie Jean King Cup Finals last year. She also called her title-winning run at the US Open 2021 quite inspiring.

"First time I met her was like three years ago. I hit with her on the grass. She was really nice, like, really lovely person. And then I actually went as a hitter for the Billie Jean King Finals last year in November. So I really got to know her there. I think she's a lovely person. What she did at the US Open, it really inspired a lot of young girls, I think. It's really nice to have someone like her," she added.

Xu was the runner-up in girls' doubles at Wimbledon 2024. She has beaten a couple of top 100 players in recent weeks, slowly making an impact on the tour. She will aim to give a good account of herself against Raducanu as well.

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Rohit

Rohit is a journalist at Sportskeeda who specializes in covering tennis. Having been with the company for three years, he has proven himself as a formidable force in the field. With a Master's degree in law, Rohit brings his analytical and research skills to the forefront as a journalist. He stays on top of the game by using social media platforms and never misses a match for on-court insights. He values giving credit where it's due, keeping his reporting fair and accurate.

At the outset of his career, Rohit found his niche in writing previews and SEO pieces and it's this expertise that continues to define his role at Sportskeeda. He is particularly proud of one article that garnered an impressive 750k views and surpassed his "wildest dreams." Rohit is not particularly fond of (GOAT) debates and it is one of the reasons why he left the legal world behind. He prefers to view players in "tiers," where they're all esteemed to an extent. However, if pressed to name favorites, he would choose Serena and Venus Williams. The Williams sisters' journey from humble beginnings to the pinnacle of tennis has been his greatest source of inspiration.

When he isn't busy making spot-on predictions about match outcomes, Rohit likes reading, particularly fantasy, sci-fi, and comics. As an X-Men fanatic, he's also passionate about board games and enjoys watching movies in his spare time. And don't be surprised if you catch him silently wishing to the tennis gods for the removal of ad scoring from doubles.

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