Wimbledon 2017: Tricky draw adds insult to spinal injury for Johanna Konta

The British number one still must assess her fitness ahead of the start of the championships

As if the spinal injury she suffered at Eastbourne was not painful enough for Johanna Konta, the Wimbledon draw brought more bad news for the British No 1.

Konta, who pulled out of the Aegon International semi-finals and will assess her fitness tomorrow before embarking on her Wimbledon campaign, has been handed a series of major challenges in her sixth visit to the All England Club, where she has only ever won one singles match.

The difficulties start with Konta’s opener, in which she will take on

Su-Wei Hsieh, the 31-year-old from Taiwan who shocked her in the first round of the recent French Open with her creative game and solid defence.

If she overcomes that hurdle, Konta is likely to face another player who has beaten her in the last month. Croatia’s Donna Vekic, who is climbing back up the world rankings after initially failing to build on her early promise, beat Konta in the final at Nottingham less than a fortnight ago.

While Konta would be expected to beat her scheduled third-round opponent, Roberta Vinci, the Briton could take on the tournament favourite, Petra Kvitova in the fourth. The 2011 and 2014 Wimbledon champion won the title at Edgbaston earlier this month in only her second comeback tournament following the horrific knife attack on her in December.

If Konta were to reach the quarter-finals, she would probably face Simona Halep, the world No 2 and recent French Open runner-up. Elina Svitolina, who has risen to No 5 in the world rankings during an excellent year, is a potential semi-final opponent for Konta.

Konta has one win in five main draw matches at SW19 (Getty)

Konta, who will play her first match on Monday, is in what appears to be the stronger half of the draw. Angelique Kerber, the world No 1, heads the top half, though the player most likely to emerge from that section is Karolina Pliskova, the world No 3 and a proven performer on grass.

Of the other leading players in the top half, Garbine Muguruza will need to put her poor recent form behind her while Caroline Wozniacki and Agnieszka Radwanska face tricky openers against Timea Babos and Jelena Jankovic respectively.

The draw was kinder to other Britons in the main draw. Heather Watson faces Belgium’s Maryna Zanevska, the world No 117, while Laura Robson will take on Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia, the world No 96.

Naomi Broady will play Romania’s Irina Camelia-Begu (world No 69) and Katie Boulter faces the world No 59, Christina McHale, of the United States.