Emma Raducanu could face Jessica Pegula if she reaches the third round of the China Open, with the British No 1 also in the same half of the draw as top seed Iga Swiatek.
The 22-year-old, seeded 30th in Beijing, will begin in round two against either Croatia’s Donna Vekic or a qualifier later this week, with world No 7 Pegula potentially next up in the WTA 1000 event.
If Raducanu works her way through the draw, she could play four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka in the last 16 and then world No 2 Swiatek in the quarter-finals.
Raducanu reached the round of 16 in last week’s Korea Open before losing in three sets to 2024 Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova when she was unable to convert three match points.
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Raducanu lost to Barbora Krejcikova in the last 16 at the Korea Open after being unable to convert three match points
She had opted to skip Britain’s Billie Jean King Cup campaign to play in Seoul.
Katie Boulter and Sonay Kartal – who did play in GB’s run to the Billie Jean King Cup semi-finals, before losing to USA’s Pegula and Emma Navarro respectively – are unseeded and will start their China Open campaigns in the opening round.
Boulter will take on American Hailey Baptiste with the winner to meet third seed and recent US Open runner-up Amanda Anisimova, while Kartal opens up against USA’s Alycia Parks with Daria Kasatkina next up should she win.
Swiatek will be looking to secure back-to-back WTA Tour titles after fighting back to beat Ekaterina Alexandrova in the final of the Korea Open on Sunday.
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