Rising Welsh star Mimi Xu relishing clash with ‘really good role model’ Emma Raducanu

Four years after she burst into public consciousness as a teenage hopeful at Wimbledon, the grass-court shoe will be on the other foot on Monday for Emma Raducanu.

One of the standout draws of the first round from a home perspective saw the former US Open champion paired with 17-year-old Mimi Xu, who is among a trio of talented teenage British girls aiming to make a name for themselves.

Xu, along with 16-year-old duo Hannah Klugman and Mika Stojsavljevic, has been rewarded for an impressive junior career and strong early strides in the women’s game with a coveted wild card.

‘Exciting’

The Welsh player, ranked 318, was left scrambling to try to find out who she had drawn, saying: “It’s quite funny because we’re moving into the Airbnb this morning at five past 10 and I get a message from my coach, and he was like: ‘What an exciting draw!’

“And then my mum’s getting messages saying, ‘That’s so good, so exciting this and that’, and not saying the name. And I haven’t seen the draw. I’m like: ‘Oh my gosh, what is the draw? Who am I playing?’

“And no one was replying afterwards, so I went on to the Wimbledon website and it wasn’t there, and eventually someone told me I’m playing Emma.

“I feel like I’m really ready for it. I’m really excited for it. Obviously she’s done so well in her career and I’m at the beginning of mine. So I think it’s going to be a really good test for me, really good opportunity for me to just go out and play and have fun. I think she’s a really good role model to have.”

Mandarin

Xu came through the Lawn Tennis Association’s national academy at Loughborough and remembers watching Raducanu win the US Open in 2021 with the other players who boarded there.

The pair are friendly, sometimes talking together in Mandarin, with Xu’s parents both of Chinese heritage along with Raducanu’s mother.

They got to know each other better when Xu was a hitting partner for the British team at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Malaga last November, and the teenager is quietly confident of causing an upset having already beaten two top-100 players on grass this summer.

“I’ve been playing really well,” she said. “I was probably the first one on the grass this year. So I think my game really suits grass. I’m really confident in my game at the moment.

“I’m going to go out there, enjoy every moment, give it a good go. And I believe I’ve got a good chance if I do all that.”

Raducanu came into the tournament after a difficult couple of matches at Eastbourne amid “some really bad” personal news, while she continues to battle a niggling back problem.

Discomfort

There were no signs of discomfort when the 22-year-old trained at the All England Club on Friday, although she was well beaten in a practice set on Court One by former champion Elena Rybakina.

Raducanu did look a lot more smiley later when she was spotted walking around the grounds with US Open mixed doubles partner Carlos Alcaraz.

Her clash with Xu could be scheduled for one of the main courts, which would not phase the teenager.

“I said to my coach: ‘When am I going to get to play on Centre Court again or Court One’,” said Xu.

“I’m really ready to embrace it and really just go out and enjoy it. At the US Open last year I got to play on Louis Armstrong, which I think was an amazing experience as well. So I’ve had that kind of big court, big stadium experience. And if I do get to play on that court, I’m really excited.”