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Emma Raducanu could face Jessica Pegula if she reaches the third round of the China Open, with the British No 1 also in the same half of the draw as top seed Iga Swiatek.
The 22-year-old, seeded 30th in Beijing, will begin in round two against either Croatia’s Donna Vekic or a qualifier later this week, with world No 7 Pegula potentially next up in the WTA 1000 event.
If Raducanu works her way through the draw, she could play four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka in the last 16 and then world No 2 Swiatek in the quarter-finals.
Raducanu reached the round of 16 in last week’s Korea Open before losing in three sets to 2024 Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova when she was unable to convert three match points.
She opted to skip Britain’s Billie Jean King Cup campaign to play in Seoul.
Pegula currently owns a 2-1 record over Raducanu, including 2-0 on hard courts. Whoever emerges from that tussle could face either 2019 champion Osaka or No 23 seed Marta Kostyuk in the last 16.
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Raducanu lost to Barbora Krejcikova in the last 16 at the Korea Open after being unable to convert three match points
Katie Boulter and Sonay Kartal – who did play in GB’s run to the Billie Jean King Cup semi-finals, before losing to USA’s Pegula and Emma Navarro respectively – are unseeded and will start their China Open campaigns in the opening round.
Boulter will take on American Hailey Baptiste with the winner to meet third seed and recent US Open runner-up Amanda Anisimova, while Kartal opens up against USA’s Alycia Parks with Daria Kasatkina next up should she win.
The 32 seeded players all have first-round byes. Swiatek will start against either Yulia Putintseva or wild card Yuan Yue, while Coco Gauff will face either Kamilla Rakhimova or Lucia Bronzetti.
Australian Open champion Madison Keys joined US Open champion Aryna Sabalenka on the sidelines, withdrawing from the tournament on Monday due to injury.
Swiatek will be looking to secure back-to-back WTA Tour titles after fighting back to beat Ekaterina Alexandrova in the final of the Korea Open on Sunday.
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