Wwelcome to the coverage of the first women’s singles match of the 2022 championships to be held at Center Court. Emma Raducanu, the No. 10 seed, who, if you hadn’t heard, is the US Open champion, will take on Alison van Uytvanck, a hardcourt specialist and world No46 from Belgium.
This season, Raducanu has had blisters on all fours, a leg injury, a side strain and a back problem, all of which have contributed to retirements and defeats. There will of course be a huge outpouring of goodwill and affection for her at Wimbledon, where she’s playing for the first time since last year’s retirement from her fourth round match, but also a lot of concerns about her physical endurance. There will also be many onlookers hoping that her struggle will cement their self-image as the little boy in the emperor’s new clothes, boasting in glee and neglecting the fact that she’s 19.
Van Uytvanck has previously disrupted the chances by eliminating defending champion Garbine Muguruza, a win that inspired ‘The Kiss’. Making the second week for the first time, she said goodbye after a fourth round defeat to Daria Kasatkina. Van Uytvanck had a bad draw last year when she took on Elina Svitolina in the first round, but she took the second set of the number 3 seed and ran close to her. Raducanu certainly sees her as a serious threat: “She is a real tough opponent, especially on grass courts. I think this background definitely suits her well. She plays a fairly fast, high tempo game. It will certainly take some getting used to to be prepared for that right away. It’s going to be a tough matchup for sure, but every match is at this level. I’m still ready to go.”
As for Raducanu, she only feels positive vibes from the workout. “This year I get such a special feeling when I walk around the terrain,” she said. “I definitely feel like people are behind me. Even some of the people who work on the tournament say, ‘You’ve got this’. I’m just encouraging. That in itself is quite special.
“I feel like I came straight out of my exams last year, I was fresh, ready to play. I feel the same excitement this year because I think Wimbledon takes that out of me most of all. But I’m definitely looking forward to it.” I’m just going to play like a kid who loves tennis, it’s always been my dream to be on Center Court, it’s something I’ve always wanted to do and started playing tennis for.
“I take every feeling as positive. I think people will stand behind me and encourage me. There’s nothing negative about that. They want you to do well. I’m looking forward to going out and doing that experience and feel that.”