Tuesday, July 1

Sports Mole previews Wednesday’s Wimbledon second-round match between Emma Raducanu and Marketa Vondrousova, including predictions, head-to-head and their tournament so far.

Emma Raducanu faces off with 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova in Wednesday’s second round, aiming to break her losing streak against the Czech player.    

The British No. 1 avoided an upset in her tournament opener on Monday, beating Mingge Xu in straight sets to set up a fourth meeting against the former world No. 6, eager to bounce back from a disappointing title defence 12 months ago.  

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Match preview

Entering her fourth main draw at Wimbledon, Raducanu knew she was the favourite in the all-British encounter with Xu, and the 2021 US Open champion beat the teenager 6-3, 6-3 to reach the second round for the fourth consecutive time.

Having improved to 8-3 at the Championships after Monday's win, the 22-year-old aims to triumph in the battle of former Grand Slam champions.

However, a losing streak to the Czech player sees the world No. 40 go into Wednesday's contest as the potential underdog despite ranking 33 places higher than the 2023 Wimbledon champion.

The Briton, whose latest victory was her 17th in 2025, seeks an 18th win at the expense of the former world No. 6 and to reach the third round at SW19 for the third time, thus setting up a tough challenge against Aryna Sabalenka or Maria Bouzkova.

While the British No. 1 cannot look that far ahead just yet, she will hope to rely on the partisan crowd to will her on to victory against the former champion in these parts.Beating Vondrousova will be far from easy for the 2021 US Open champion, who recently triumphed in Berlin before her first-round win over in-form Nottingham champion McCartney Kessler.

Monday's 6-1, 7-6(3) victory was the first time the 26-year-old has played at Wimbledon since a disappointing first-round exit to Jessica Bouzas Maneiro last year, thus becoming the first Open Era defending women's champion since Steffi Graf in 1994 to lose at the first hurdle after winning the Championships the previous year.

Interestingly, the world No. 73's 9-5 Wimbledon record is bolstered by winning seven consecutive matches two years ago, highlighting her inconsistent performances outside of that 2023 run.

Previous appearances have ended in the opening round (2016, 2017, 2018, 2024) or second round (2021), and the three-time WTA champion aims to avoid another second-round exit at the hands of another former Grand Slam winner.

Last week’s successful run was timely for the lefty, who has now improved to 12-5 for the season, and seeks a 13th win in 2025 at the expense of the former world No. 10.

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Tournament so far

Emma Raducanu:

First round: vs. Mingge Xu 6-3 6-3

Marketa Vondrousova:

First round: vs. McCartney Kessler 6-1 7-6[3]

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Head To Head

Abu Dhabi (2025) - Round of 32: Vondrousova 6-3 6-4

BJK Cup (2022) - Round Robin: Vondrousova 6-1 6-1

Wimbledon (2021) - Second round: Raducanu 6-2 6-4

Raducanu and Vondrousova face off at SW19 four years after their second-round match in 2021, which the Brit won in straight sets.    

Since that win, the Czech player has claimed back-to-back victories over the former US Open champion, most recently on the hard courts of Abu Dhabi in February, and heads into their fourth match on the women’s tour having won four consecutive sets since their 2021 encounter.    

The 2024 Wimbledon champion holds a 9-5 career record at Wimbledon, bolstered by her successful 2023 campaign, which is close to the British No. 1's 8-3 record.  

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We say: Vondrousova to win in two sets

While Raducanu will be supported by the home crowd, Vondrousova, a former champion at SW19 who has already defeated the British No. 1 on clay and hard courts, is likely to disappoint the partisan crowd by knocking out the British No. 1 on Wednesday, thus setting up a highly anticipated clash with Sabalenka or Bouzkova. ID:576568:1false2false3false: from db desktop :LenBod:collect5369:

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