British Tennis Duo Emma Raducanu and Katie Boulter Secure First Win of Grass-Court Season
A highly anticipated doubles match between Emma Raducanu and Katie Boulter lived up to expectations as the British duo secured their first win of the grass-court season at Queen’s. The pair, who have been practicing together on clay, decided to team up for the tournament and proved to be a formidable partnership, beating doubles specialists Xinyu Jiang of China and Fang-Hsien Wu of Taiwan 6-4, 6-2.
According to The Independent, spectators had been queuing for an hour outside Court One in the hopes of catching a glimpse of the British duo, with one lady expressing her disappointment at having bought tickets for the Andy Murray Arena, only to find out they were playing on the smaller Court One. Those who had secured tickets for the intimate court were treated to a fired-up performance from Raducanu and Boulter, who have been working on their partnership in the lead-up to the tournament.
The duo’s partnership was some time in the making, with Boulter stating before the tournament began that they had discussed playing together at various tournaments, including Miami, Madrid, and Roland-Garros. Boulter, the British No. 1, has a wealth of experience in doubles, having recently teamed up with Daria Kasatkina at the Madrid Open and partnered with Jodie Burrage at the Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers in April.
For Raducanu, this was a journey into the unknown, having only played doubles once previously, alongside Denmark’s Clara Tauson at the Washington Open in 2022. After the match, she cited the quick turnaround from clay to grass as an incentive to get as much match time on the surface as possible. The 22-year-old has been managing a series of back spasms that have affected her for much of the spring, but stated afterwards that her back felt “in good shape”.
The win is a significant boost for both players, who are hunting a seeded spot at Wimbledon. Boulter, the world No. 34, has the advantage over Raducanu, ranked three places below her. However, a strong run for either at Queen’s would send them up the rankings ahead of the most important tournament of the season.
As The Independent reports, much has been made of the battle for the British No. 1 spot between Boulter and Raducanu, although Boulter has downplayed it. The match may also have been a case of keeping your friends close, and your enemies closer. The pair were all smiles as they walked out, and their similar on-court personalities matched well.
An early pattern was established of Boulter using her immense power from the baseline and Raducanu reacting at the net, the combination of pace and precision putting their opponents on the back foot. However, Jiang and Wu fought back, imposing themselves in net exchanges. Raducanu hammered a superb forehand down the line to get out of trouble in a tricky service game for 3-1, and her serve came under pressure again at 4-3, when their opponents levelled proceedings after Boulter fired long.
The British pair continued to up the ante and took the set with an error from Jiang. They seemed to settle into a groove in the second, breaking for a 2-1 lead courtesy of a lovely cross-court forehand winner by Raducanu. Break point up at 5-2, the Brits played a point that summed up their partnership: Boulter went toe-to-toe with Wu in an excellent, lengthy baseline exchange, before Raducanu sealed the break with a sweet forehand volley into the open court.
“I feel like if one of us hits a good ball, we’re both capitalising on that,” Boulter said afterwards, as quoted by The Independent. “So naturally I already feel a lot more confident that Emma is going to put the ball away if I’ve hit a good shot.”
The win marks a promising start to the grass-court season for Raducanu and Boulter, who will likely begin their singles campaigns soon. There was the occasional apology over mix-ups with the ball, but this had the feel of a natural partnership. Raducanu said afterwards that it was important to “put ourselves in the best position possible” ahead of the Billie Jean King Cup, giving captain Anne Keothavong a wealth of options for doubles teams.
The smiles continued in their post-match press conference: Boulter said they were “very pleased to get Emma’s first win on the board for doubles”, while Raducanu confessed that she was “probably more nervous than the singles” at the start, but that “Katie made me feel so comfortable”.
As the grass season builds, Britain’s top two singles players have plenty of pressure on their shoulders. This partnership offers both the chance to sharpen up ahead of a crucial three weeks, in a comparatively low-stakes format. All while keeping an eye on their biggest rival for the No. 1 spot.
No plans have yet been made to continue playing together at Wimbledon, Raducanu said. However, a grinning Boulter had other plans: “Scrap what she said, we’re going for the Wimbledon title.” According to The Independent, this was a statement that left fans and pundits alike eagerly anticipating their next match.
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