Raducanu faces seed with Murray drawn against Machac

Emma Raducanu has been drawn against Russian 22nd seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in the first round of Wimbledon, while Andy Murray – if he is fit – will face Czech Tomas Machac.

Murray, 37, had an operation on a back cyst at the weekend and says he will wait until the last minute to decide whether he can compete on Tuesday.

Seven-time men’s champion Novak Djokovic, who is also in a race to be fit, has been drawn against Czech debutant Vit Kopriva.

Djokovic, 37, had minor knee surgery after pulling out of his French Open quarter-final earlier this month.

Second seed Djokovic has been put in the opposite side of the draw to defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, meaning they cannot meet unless they create a rematch of last year’s final.

British number one Katie Boulter, who is seeded 32nd, starts against German veteran Tatjana Maria, who reached the semi-finals in 2022.

Jack Draper is also seeded for the first time and plays Swedish qualifier Elias Ymer.

Draper, seeded 29th, could play Cameron Norrie – who he replaced as British men’s number one earlier this month – in the second round.

Murray gets extra day in fitness race

Murray will make a decision “as late as possible” about a farewell Wimbledon appearance – but said on Thursday it is “more likely” he will be unable to play singles next week.

The Briton, who plans to retire this year, has returned to training after the procedure on his back.

Former world number one Murray says he has “earned the right” to leave it as long as possible to see if he can play.

Therefore, he appeared in Friday’s singles draw and was pitched against 38th-ranked Machac, against whom Murray’s injury problems this season began.

Murray started to find form at the Miami Open in March before rupturing ankle ligaments in a three-set defeat against the Czech.

After being sidelined for seven weeks, he returned for the European clay-court swing but has suffered back issues since.

Wimbledon tradition dictates that the defending men’s champion starts on Monday, which means Murray has an extra day to try to be fit as Alcaraz plays Estonian qualifier Mark Lajal in the other half of the draw.

If Murray is not ready, he hopes to compete in the men’s doubles alongside his brother Jamie.

Who are the other Brits playing?

Raducanu, 21, makes her return to the All England Club after missing last year’s tournament through injury – putting her among 19 British players in the singles draws.

She comes into the grass-court Grand Slam in encouraging form, having reached the Nottingham semi-finals and Eastbourne quarter-finals.

In Eastbourne, she beat American world number five Jessica Pegula for her first win over a top-10 opponent.

Boulter, who won the Nottingham title, could play fellow Briton Harriet Dart in the second round.

Dart starts against Chinese qualifier Bai Zhuoxuan.

British qualifier Sonay Kartal has been rewarded with an opening match against Romanian 29th seed Sorana Cirstea.

Heather Watson – who reached the fourth round in 2022 – starts against Belgian player Greet Minnen.

Francesca Jones and Lily Miyazaki, also both given wildcards, play Croatia’s Petra Martic and Germany’s Tamara Korpatsch respectively.

Norrie, who reached the semi-finals in 2022, must beat Argentina‘s Facundo Diaz Acosta in order to set up a potential Draper clash.

British men’s number three Dan Evans’ participation was put in doubt by an injury suffered at Queen’s, but featured in the draw and has been pitted against Chilean 24th seed Alejandro Tabilo.

Wildcard Jacob Fearnley could face Djokovic in the second round – if he beats Spanish qualifier Alejandro Moro Canas.

Charles Broom, another British wildcard, starts his Wimbledon debut against three-time major champion Stan Wawrinka.

What about the other star names?

Jannik Sinner is the leading men’s seed after his rise to the top of the world rankings and starts his first major since claiming that status against Germany’s Yannick Hanfmann.

But a tough-looking opponent awaits in the second round – 2021 finalist Matteo Berrettini in a potential all-Italian clash.

In the women’s draw, top seed Iga Swiatek has been handed a challenging opener against 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin as she looks to go beyond the Wimbledon quarter-finals for the first time.

The pair also met in Melbourne earlier this year when Poland‘s Swiatek won 7-6 (7-2) 6-2.

Swiatek could face Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko – who she has never beaten – in the fourth round and defending champion Marketa Vondrousova in the quarter-finals.

Vondrousova, who injured her hip at a pre-Wimbledon event in Berlin, is set to start her defence against Spain‘s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro.

In the other half of the draw, American second seed Coco Gauff starts against compatriot Caroline Dolehide, while Belarusian third seed Aryna Sabalenka faces American Emina Bektas.