Emma Raducanu saw off fellow Brit Mingge Xu to book her place in the second round of the 2025 Wimbledon Open.

Raducanu claimed a straight-sets victory, winning 6-3, 6-3. The 17-year-old Xu struggled to trouble Raducanu, but given it was her Grand Slam debut, her performance showed promise. Xu has already displayed the talent that suggests she could become one of the top players in the coming years. Despite the loss, Xu expressed her joy at making her Grand Slam debut and had praise for her opponent:

“My dream would have definitely been to have won, but I’m so honoured that this was my debut,” said Xu. “I got to play on an amazing court with an amazing crowd, such a great atmosphere, and against an amazing opponent. I just don’t think I could have asked for anything different. I enjoyed every moment out there. It’s really put belief in me and ignited a fire within me that I can do this, and I belong here. I’ve learned so much from this match, from playing her — kind of how she deals with these moments and what the differences were there against a top player. I think I can do a lot of things in my game to improve it further.”

Raducanu, meanwhile, was pleased with her performance and acknowledged the difficulty of facing a fellow Brit in the opening round:

“I’m super pleased to have come through that match. It’s so difficult playing another Brit first round. When the draw came out, I can’t say I was loving it.”

The British number one will now face 2023 Wimbledon champion Markéta Vondroušová in the second round.