When Emma Raducanu met Iga Swiatek in junior tennis

Emma Raducanu was drawn to play Iga Swiatek in her first tennis match of 2022 before the Pole pulled out due to a rib injury. While the two have never faced each other on the WTA tour, they have locked horns in junior tennis.

Emma Raducanu became a household name overnight when she won the 2021 US Open by beating Leylah Fernandez in the final. Incidentally, Raducanu also became the first player to win the tournament as a qualifier, and did so without dropping a single set.

The 2021 US Open was only the Brit's second main draw appearance at a Grand Slam, her previous one coming at Wimbledon the same year. Raducanu's limited exposure on the WTA tour so far means she is yet to cross paths with many big-name players.

In fact, when Raducanu steamrolled her way to the title at Flushing Meadows, she did not face a single top-10 player along the way. Against the current top-10 ranked players, she has only faced Maria Sakkari and Paula Badosa, winning on both occasions.

However, Raducanu came up against World No. 9 Swiatek three years ago, in the quarterfinals of the 2018 Wimbledon Girls' Singles. Both players were unseeded at the tournament even though Swiatek was considered too good to still be playing junior tennis at that point.

Swiatek disposed of the No. 1 seed Whitney Osuigwe in the first round, while Raducanu dealt with fellow 2021 US Open finalist Fernandez in her second-round fixture.

The 15-year-old Raducanu however was no match for Swiatek, who was almost two years older than her. The Pole ended up winning the match 6-0, 6-1 and went on to win the title. The following year, Swiatek moved on to the WTA tour and made her debut at the Australian Open.

Emma Raducanu returns to action at the 2022 Sydney Tennis Classic

Emma Raducanu's first game of 2022 will be at the Sydney Tennis Classic against Elena Rybakina

Emma Raducanu's last tennis match was at the Linz Open in 2021 where she was the No. 1 seed. Unfortunately, the 19-year-old lost to qualifier Xinyu Wang in the second round.

Following that, Raducanu was announced to play at the 2021 Mubadala World Tennis Championship. But the World No. 19 withdrew from the exhibition tournament a few days prior due to a COVID-19 infection.

Emma Raducanu was scheduled to play in the Melbourne Summer Set 1 but once again withdrew, citing a lack of fitness. The 2022 Sydney Classic will mark her first match of the season, where she will face off against ninth seed Elena Rybakina.