Boulter stuns Rybakina at Queen's for biggest career win

· BBC Sport
Katie Boulter's previous biggest win by ranking was against the fifth-ranked Jessica Pegula in 2024Getty Images

ByHarry Poole
BBC Sport journalist
Published

An inspired Katie Boulter celebrated the biggest win of her career by ranking as the Briton ousted world number two Elena Rybakina to reach the Queen's semi-finals.

Having overcome Jaqueline Cristian earlier in the day to reach the last eight, Boulter returned to court on Friday evening and stunned Australian Open champion Rybakina in an outstanding 7-5 2-6 6-4 victory.

World number 73 Boulter saved 12 of the 14 break points she faced over two hours and 39 minutes against former Wimbledon winner Rybakina.

The 29-year-old was roared on by passionate home support and skipped across the court in delight after Rybakina netted a return on Boulter's third match point.

Boulter will next face Croatia's Donna Vekic for a place in the final.

Fellow Briton Emma Raducanu could potentially also have to play two matches in the same day after reaching the quarter-finals earlier on Friday.

Raducanu achieved her first win against a top-20 opponent in over a year by eliminating Romanian world number 18 Sorana Cirstea 6-4 6-2 to reach the last eight.

It was a significant win for Raducanu against an opponent who thrashed her in the Transylvania Open final in February - and the 23-year-old had not won back-to-back matches since that tournament four months ago.

But there was not enough time for the British number one to contest her quarter-final against Kamilla Rakhimova - meaning she would need to play that match and her semi-final on Saturday should she defeat the 78th-ranked Russian-born Uzbek.

No play was possible at Queen's on Thursday because of rain, meaning all four quarter-finals needed to be played on Friday.

Related topics

More on this story