Emma Raducanu Faces Last-Minute Opponent Change In Rome After Opening Win

Emma Raducanu won her first-round match at the 2025 Italian Open in Rome, but she now has to deal with an unexpected situation ahead of her second match in the Italian capital.

Raducanu arrived in Rome after reaching the second round in Madrid. She first bested Suzan Lamens before losing to Marta Kostyuk in three sets. In Italy, the Brit started by beating 19-year-old Maya Joint 7-5, 6-7(1), 6-3.

It was a hard-fought win for Raducanu, especially since she served for the match in the second set, before having to decide it in the third one. After winning the match, the 2021 US Open champion could shift focus to preparing for her second-round match.

Already prior to her first-round match, Raducanu knew who would be her second-round opponent. The 22-year-old was supposed to take on Ekaterina Alexandrova, who had a first-round bye as one of the seeded players.

The two have met already twice this year, with Raducanu winning their match at the Australian Open and Alexandrova triumphing in Doha. However, their meeting in Rome won't happen.

Shortly before their match, scheduled to be played at the SuperTennis Arena, Alexandrova withdrew from the tournament. Normally, that would mean a walkover into the next round for Raducanu, but not in this case.

Since Alexandrova was a seeded player with a first-round bye, and she had yet to play a match in Rome, instead of giving a walkover to Raducanu, the Russian player was replaced by a lucky loser.

The lucky loser is Jil Teichmann, who beat home wild card Federica Di Sarra in the first round of the qualifying before losing to Hailey Baptiste in round two. This matchup could prove to be complicated for Raducanu, especially because of the short notice.

Teichmann is one of the left-handed players on the WTA Tour, and tennis players usually like to practice with some left-handed players before taking on such opponents.

In this case, Raducanu didn't have a chance to do that, as Alexandrova withdrew shortly before their match, and the Brit couldn't adjust her preparation for the match.

On the other hand, the British No. 2 player will play against a much lower-ranked opponent. Alexandrova is ranked 20th in the world, while Teichmann is the World No. 94 player.

Unless there is a further change because of Alexandrova's withdrawal, this match should still be played at the SuperTennis Arena, one of the larger courts in Rome.

Should Raducanu use this opponent change to her advantage, she would take on the winner of the match between the 15th-seeded Amanda Anisimova and Veronika Kudermetova in the third round of the tournament.