Wales' Xu to face Kasatkina in Wimbledon opener

Wales' Mimi Xu has been drawn to face Australia's Daria Kasatkina in the first round of the women's singles at Wimbledon.

Xu has been handed a wildcard into the main draw for the second successive year.

The Swansea-born 18-year-old, who is ranked 327th in the world, was beaten by fellow Brit Emma Raducanu on debut in 2025.

She faces another tough test against 29-year-old Kasatkina, a former French Open semi-finalist.

The world number 68 is competing in the Wimbledon singles for the ninth time, with a run to the quarter-finals in 2018 her best performance at the All England Club.

Kasatkina, who previously represented Russia, has a career-best world ranking of eighth, which she achieved in 2022.

Xu and partner Alicia Dudeney have also received a wildcard for the women's doubles, where they will face 2023 French Open doubles champions Hsieh Su-Wei and Wang Xinyu.

Su-Wei is a former world number one doubles player with nine Grand Slam titles, including five at Wimbledon.

Full women's singles draw, external