Emma Raducanu Faces Ann Li in Wuhan Open Opener

WUHAN, China — Emma Raducanu will begin her campaign at the 2025 Wuhan Open against American Ann Li in the first round on Tuesday. The British No. 1 Raducanu has had a mixed season, with her best showing coming in Washington where she reached the semifinals before losing to Anna Kalinskaya.

This year, Raducanu also made it to the quarterfinals in Miami and London and reached the fourth round in Rome. However, she has struggled in many other tournaments, failing to get past the third round several times. Across 48 matches, she recorded 165 aces and holds a 65.2% first-serve win rate, with 45.1% of return points won and a 50.4% break-point conversion rate.

Li, on the other hand, has encountered inconsistency throughout her season. She reached finals in Singapore and Tennis in the Land, but lost both matches in straight sets to Elise Mertens and Sorana Cirstea, respectively. After retiring due to injury in Dubai, she bounced back with quarterfinal appearances in Marrakech and Prague, and her best result came at the US Open, where she reached the fourth round.

Li has played 45 matches this season, clocking in 185 aces with a 65.1% first-serve win rate and a 43.5% success rate on return points. Her break-point conversion rate stands at 43.9%. In their only previous encounter this season at Eastbourne, Raducanu prevailed after a comeback to take a lead of 1-0 in their head-to-head record.

As both players prepare for the match, Raducanu’s experience on big stages may give her the edge. However, Li’s power and recent improvements suggest that this opening round could produce an upset in Wuhan.