THE Wimbledon women’s singles draw was this morning plunged into confusion following a momentary technical hitch.
Referee Denise Parnall was on hand at the All England Club to complete the hotly-anticipated draw.
RexEmma Raducanu learned her first round opponent[/caption]
Proceedings began with the women’s event, followed by the men’s.
As is customary, the seeds were drawn first, prior to the rest of the field being filled out.
Early on in proceedings, there were confused looks between Parnall and technicians over the positioning of 20th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia and 24th seed Mirra Andreeva.
A reporter in the room even had to shout out to alert officials as to where they had gone wrong, with incorrect profile photos being shown on screen.
The draw was momentarily paused so that officials could see where they had gone wrong.
Luckily, following discussions, there was no need for a re-draw and matters were rectified and proceedings were able to continue.
Viewers watching on were left confused by what happened.
One wrote on social media: “Wimbledon women’s draw has been a bit of a mess so far.”
BEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKERS
While a second moaned: “Thought I’d tune into the Wimbledon draw for the first time ever, and what an absolute shambles.”
The draw saw Emma Raducanu land 22nd seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in the first round.
It will mark the 2021 US Open champion’s first SW19 appearance since 2022, when she lost to Caroline Garcia in round two.
No32 seed Katie Boulter drew former semi-finalist Tatjana Maria, and could meet British compatriot Harriet Dart in the second round, should the world No105 beat qualifier Bai Zhouxuan.
Of the other Brits in the women’s draw, wildcards Lily Miyazaki, Heather Watson and Fran Jones landed Tamara Korpatsch, Greet Minnen and Petra Martic respectively.
Should Jones triumph, she could meet world No1 Iga Swiatek in round two.
On the men’s side, Andy Murray has drawn Tomas Machac in round one.
The 37-year-old met the Czech star in Miami back in March, pushing him close before injuring his ankle.
Murray is recovering from surgery last Saturday that removed a spinal cyst.
He has suggested he will wait until the last possible moment before deciding whether he will step out to play.
The two-time Wimbledon champion is also set to be in the men’s doubles draw alongside brother Jamie.
Should he be able to take to the court, this will be Murray’s final Wimbledon, as he intends to hang up his racquet after the Olympics in Paris.
Novak Djokovic, meanwhile, has recovered from knee surgery just three weeks ago in order to play.
The second seed will open his campaign against qualifier Vit Kopriva.
