The draw for the WTA tournament in Strasbourg is out, and Emma Raducanu features in one of several intriguing early matchups in a strong field.
The clay-court 500 event, which will be held in the week before the French Open from May 18 to 24, features six top 20 players — including three top 10 stars.
Madison Keys was the 2024 champion, but she chose not to play this year. The draw includes 28 players, including four wildcards: Jessica Pegula, Raducanu, Diane Parry and Alize Cornet.
The seeded players are Pegula (1), Emma Navarro (2), Paula Badosa (3), Elena Rybakina (4), Daria Kasatkina (6), Barbora Krejcikova (7) and Liudmila Samsonova (8).
Elina Svitolina was the fifth seed, but her place will be taken by a lucky loser as she pulled out after the draw was made. Ekaterina Alexandrova and Olga Danilovic have also withdrawn.
The top four seeds receive a bye to the second round, while players seeded between five to eight will enter in the opening round.
Top half
Pegula, Badosa, Kasatkina and Samsonova are the four seeded players in a stacked top half of the draw.
Top seed Pegula will face Anna Kalinskaya or a qualifier in her opening match, while she is projected to meet Kasatkina in the quarter-finals.
Raducanu has been handed a brutal draw as she will play Kasatkina — against whom she holds a 0-3 record — in the first round. Whoever prevails will take on the winner of a spicy all-American matchup between Danielle Collins and Sofia Kenin.
No 3 seed Paula Badosa has not played since the Miami Open in March due to her persistent back injury, and the Spaniard is set to play Alize Cornet or a qualifier in her opener. Eighth seed Samsonova is projected to meet Badosa in the last eight.
WTA Tour News
Emma Raducanu set a demanding rankings target as she looks to seal big climb
Bottom half
Second seed Emma Navarro will face the winner of an opening round clash between Magdalena Frech and Beatriz Haddad Maia.
With Svitolina withdrawing, world No 23 Clara Tauson is the highest-ranked player Navarro could face in the quarter-finals.
No 4 seed Rybakina will begin her campaign against Wang Xinyu, and she is on a quarter-final collision course with fellow Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova.
Krejcikova, the seventh seed, is set to play her first event of the 2025 season, having not featured since the WTA Finals in November due to injury.
Projected quarter-finals
Pegula (1) vs. Kasatkina (6)
Badosa (3) vs. Samsonova (8)
Rybakina (4) vs. Krejcikova (7)
Navarro (2) vs. Tauson (unseeded)
Fantastic draw in the Strasbourg WTA 500.
1st rounds
Collins-Kenin
Kasatkina-Raducanu
Samsonova-Noskova
Krejcikova (!)-Linette
Haddad Maia-FrechWow.
(Svitolina withdrew) pic.twitter.com/3Wq7EQtW9x
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) May 17, 2025
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