Emma Raducanu will open her Eastbourne campaign against Ann Li after being handed a nightmare draw in Sussex. The 2021 US Open champion could then meet two-time Wimbledon finalist Ons Jabeur in the second round, while she may also cross paths with Lulu Sun, who beat her at the All England Club last year.

The Eastbourne draw was made on Saturday, with Raducanu entering the tournament as the seventh seed. The 22-year-old reached the quarter-finals at Queen’s last week, where she ultimately succumbed to Qinwen Zheng. She previously reached the second round at the French Open in the second Grand Slam of the year but was only able to win three games against Iga Swiatek as she was sent packing in Paris.

The British players have all been handed tough draws at Eastbourne, with Harriet Dart set to open her campaign against reigning Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova.

Sonay Kartal will face 2017 French Open winner Jelena Ostapenko, who reached the semi-finals of Wimbledon in 2018 and was a quarter-finalist at the All England Club last year.

Meanwhile, the men’s draw is also star-studded, with Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul and Ugo Humbert all set to feature.

British wildcard Cam Norrie will open his campaign against Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, while compatriot Jacob Fearnley will go head-to-head with Flavio Cobolli.

Briton Dan Evans has also been given a wildcard for the tournament and will take on Miomir Kecmanovic in his opening match.

Qualifying for Eastbourne got underway on Saturday, with the main draw action set to get underway on Monday. The finals are due to be played next Saturday.

Daria Kasatkina is the reigning women’s champion after getting the better of Leylah Fernandez in last year’s final, with Fritz currently holding the men’s crown after seeing off Max Purcell in the showpiece match a year ago.

Raducanu will be hoping to stay fully fit in Eastbourne after being forced to deal with a back issue during her defeat against Zheng at Queen’s.

And following that showdown, she explained: “I have been struggling with my back since Strasbourg, and it’s just been something that’s been on and off.

“I have been managing it pretty well over the last few weeks, but I guess as the week goes on and I have played five matches now, even if two were doubles, I think it just tests it out. And I just felt it as the load goes up.

“They took me off court and taped it to give me some extra stability, and some painkillers. It has been lingering for the last few weeks and I have had back issues before. It’s just a vulnerability of mine. I know I need to take good care of it.”