Emma Raducanu, Katie Boulter and a journey into the unknown: ‘We're going for the Wimbledon title'

Independent

6 days ago

Spectators had been queuing for an hour outside Court One in the hopes of catching a glimpse of Katie Boulter and Emma Raducanu. One immaculately-dressed lady, a parody of Queen's genteel West Kensington surroundings, complained that she had bought tickets for the Andy Murray Arena in the expectation that Britain's top two female singles players would be in action there, and seemed baffled that she couldn't access the smaller court they had in fact been assigned.
Those who had secured tickets for the small, intimate Court One enjoyed the sight of a fired-up Raducanu and Boulter securing their first win of the grass-court season, and their first as a somewhat surprising doubles pairing. The pair beat doubles specialists Xinyu Jiang of China and Fang-Hsien Wu of Taiwan 6-4, 6-2, in a match that was a fascinating insight into both players' attitude at the start of the swing.
This was a partnership that had been some time in the making. Boulter said before the tournament began that the pair had been practicing on clay at Queen's when they mooted the idea of coming back to play doubles here; it had been suggested in the lead-up to Miami, Madrid, and Roland-Garros too.
Boulter, the British No. 1, has a wealth of experience in doubles, most recently teaming up with Daria Kasatkina at the Madrid Open, while she partnered close friend Jodie Burrage at the Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers in April. That match indicated the combined firepower of two singles players can overwhelm even a team of doubles specialists; so it proved again today.
But for Raducanu this was something of 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 said afterwards it felt 'in good shape', and she fortunately did not look affected as the pair wrapped up victory in an hour and 11 minutes.
The decision to maximise time on grass has an added edge this year, with both players hunting a seeded spot at Wimbledon. Boulter, the world No. 34, has the advantage over Raducanu, ranked three places below her. But a strong run for either at Queen's would send them up the rankings ahead of the most important tournament of the season.
Much has been made of the battle for the British No. 1 spot, too, although Boulter in particular has downplayed it. Fun as this match evidently was for both players, it may also have been a case of keeping your friends close, and your enemies closer.
Enemies in a strictly professional sense: the pair were all smiles as they walked out, and their similar on-court personalities – both cut positive, pumped-up figures – 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.
But Xiang and Wu fought back, imposing themselves in net exchanges. The 5'3' Xiang proved masterful at overheads despite her diminutive size. 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.
But the British pair continued to up the ante and took the set with an error from Xiang. 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. Another blast of a volley by the 22-year-old wrapped up the match.
'I feel like if one of us hits a good ball, we're both capitalising on that. 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,' Boulter said afterwards.
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. (Burrage and Sonay Kartal – the latter up to world No. 50 – also combining in doubles at Queen's.)
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'.
Britain's top two singles players have plenty of pressure on their shoulders at the best of times, but particularly as the grass season builds. 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. But a grinning Boulter had other plans: 'Scrap what she said, we're going for the Wimbledon title.'