Emma Raducanu's nightmare Wimbledon draw - Nemesis up first as Aryna Sabalenka awaits

Emma Raducanu is set to find out what her Wimbledon path looks like as she prepares to take on SW19 and go in search of a second Grand Slam victory. The 2021 US Open winner is heading to the All England Club without ideal preparation, as she struggled with a back injury at Queen's and Eastbourne, leading to defeat against teenager Maya Joint most recently.

The 22-year-old will hold to ease her back pain with a relatively easy opening match or two, but as an unseeded player she faces the prospect of playing one of the biggest names in tennis next week. Here, Express Sport has taken a look at what a nightmare draw for Raducanu may look like.

Nemesis in first round

Raducanu just cannot seem to get past Iga Swiatek. The Polish star has slumped down the WTA Tour rankings and enters Wimbledon as just the eighth seed, but remains as dominant as ever against the Brit.

Swiatek has won all five encounters, including a recent 6-1 6-2 second-round drubbing at the French Open, where Raducanu claimed that her opponent is "always fired up" when they meet on court.

At Paris, their encounter reminded Raducanu just how far away she was from tennis' elite, even at a time when Swiatek has struggled by her lofty standards.

Another issue with an early run-in with Swiatek is that even if Raducanu defies the odds and upsets Swiatek, on a surface she has struggled on in the past, more top seeds are waiting.

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Aryna Sabalenka awaits

Last year, Raducanu enjoyed a strong summer run and made it to the quarter-finals, where she was defeated by Lulu Sun on Centre Court.

If the Brit overcomes Swiatek and two more opponents, she could be paired in the same quarter of the tournament as world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka.

The Belarusian will not be short on motivation, having lost the French Open final to Coco Gauff, another player Raducanu could potentially face in the quarter-finals after taking on Swiatek.

Raducanu could realistically face Swiatek in the first round, Sabalenka in the quarters, Jessica Pegula in the semi-finals and then a showpiece final against Gauff.

Beating all of those top seeds to the title would be a massive undertaking, especially for a player such as Raducanu, who has not been in a WTA final since winning the US Open, and is "going through some stuff" before the tournament.

"Unfortunately I couldn't get over the line today but I can get some rest ahead of next week," she told the BBC after defeat to Joint this week. "I feel quite tired. Just going through some stuff and I need to do my best to get my head in the game ahead of next week."

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