New number one Katie Boulter insists the standard of women’s British tennis is high despite a notable absence in the main draw at the recent French Open.
Boulter, who replaced Emma Raducanu as the highest ranked British player this week, was one of a number of players who missed out in qualifying at Roland Garros, meaning Britain was not represented in a women’s draw at a grand slam for the first time since 2009.
There are a host of players ranked outside of the top 100 and Boulter, who began her reign at the summit of the rankings with a routine 6-1 6-3 win over Emily Appleton at the Rothesay Nottingham Open, says the quality is there.
“I have come through British tennis for a long time and I have seen the ups and the downs and there is always going to be that,” she said. “We had a grand slam champion (Raducanu) two years ago and unfortunately this year she has got a few injuries and we wish her well.
“But we are in a place where we have the most amount of girls in between 100 and 200 that can really push on.
“For the first time we have that, we might not be top 100 right now but every one of us who are playing these tournaments can be and have shown that we can be. That is exciting and it’s a positive for all of us.”
Boulter will only remain number one if she reaches the quarter-finals in her home tournament this week and she is relishing the battle, with the likes of Jodie Burrage, Harriet Dart and Katie Swan also vying for the spot.
View this post on Instagram
“How good is that? We have four or five girls who are playing some really good tennis and it is going to be extremely exciting for a lot of the British fans to watch over the summer,” Boulter added.
“I hope it can spur us on. I am a very process-orientated girl, I don’t think I am huge on watching what other people do, I have to stay in my own little bubble.
“I wish the girls the best of luck, I hope they get many, many wins over the summer, I’ll keep focusing on myself and we’ll find out who is going to be doing well.”
The tournament in Nottingham has been overshadowed by the tragic events in the city, where three people were killed and another three hospitalised, and Boulter sent her best wishes.
“I am staying at home, I am very lucky in that aspect,” she said. “Obviously it is awful to wake up to. I don’t really have much social media at the moment but a couple of people who are staying with me in my team told me there was a lot going on so my thoughts go out to all those people and I hope everyone can stay safe.
“Hopefully tomorrow is a better day.”
Both Dart and Burrage progressed to the last 16 with impressive wins.
Dart saw off Canada’s Rebecca Marino 6-4 6-2 while Burrage beat Tereza Martincova 7-6 (5) 3-6 7-6 (4).
However, Swan exited the tournament at the first stage, going down in three sets to Frenchwoman Alize Cornet, who won 2-6 6-1 6-4.
Elsewhere in the tournament, defending champion and recent French Open semi-finalist Beatriz Haddad Maia suffered a surprise defeat to Ukrainian lucky loser Daria Singer, going down 6-4 6-3.
'It can only get better' - Sabalenka leaving Madrid Open 'with positive thoughts' despite Swiatek defeat
Aryna Sabalenka is encouraged by her run to the Madrid Open final and feels her performance levels "can only get better", despite defeat by Iga Swiatek.
In a repeat of last year's showpiece, the world number two went down 7-5 4-6 7-6 (9-7) in a thrilling encounter with the Pole, who avenged her loss from 12 months ago.
Sabalenka, who saw three championship points go begging, narrowly missed out on becoming only the second woman to win three titles in Madrid after Petra Kvitova.
Nevertheless, the reigning Australian Open champion reached her first final since triumphing in Melbourne, while extending her winning streak in the Spanish capital to 11 matches before defeat to the world number one.
"I really want to see many more finals against [Swiatek]. I want to see more wins than losses," she said. "But I really hope that we'll be able to keep the level or increase the level every year.
"I'm happy with the level I played, with the effort I put into this match and into this week. I'm leaving Madrid with positive thoughts.
"Probably when I broke [Swiatek] in the third set, I should have been more focused on my serve. But at the same time, it's not like I double-faulted; she played great tennis, and she broke me back.
"I think after the Australian Open, I struggled for a couple of months. It's been intense. I'm super happy that, here in Madrid, I was able to bring it all together and be able to get back to my level. It can only get better from now on."
Swiatek was not to be denied a third title of the season - a tally only matched by Elena Rybakina - and she has now won each of her last seven WTA Tour-level finals since losing out to Sabalenka in Madrid last year.
The three-time French Open champion has also now triumphed in every European clay court tournament at WTA 500 level or higher.
"When I look back in maybe a few years, it will mean a lot," the Pole said. "But for now, I'm just happy that I won this tournament anyway. It doesn't matter to me if I won it before or not. I try to win each tournament that I play.
"I think it was more about who was going to be less stressed and who was going to be able to play with more freedom.
"For most of the match, I felt like some decisions [from her] were pretty courageous. I was sometimes a little bit back. So, in the end, I just wanted not to do that and to also be courageous.
"I don't know what made a difference. I think we both deserved to win; I think it was only about those little points in the tiebreaker."
Swiatek topples Sabalenka in thrilling Madrid Open final
Iga Swiatek clinched the Madrid Open title after downing defending champion Aryna Sabalenka in a gruelling final.
In a rematch of last year's final, the top two players in the world did battle in thrilling fashion on Saturday, with Swiatek eventually prevailing 7-5 4-6 7-6 (9-7) after three hours and 14 minutes on court.
It marked Swiatek's first title in Madrid, and the Pole had to do it the hard way, saving three championship points before finally coming out on top in the tie-break, which she sealed with her second championship point when Sabalenka sent a backhand long.
This victory means Swiatek, who has won the French Open on three occasions, has now won every European clay court tournament at WTA 500 level or higher.
It was also Swiatek's seventh victory over Sabalenka, from what was their 10th meeting.
Data Debrief: Clay queen Swiatek rolls on
Swiatek has now won her past seven WTA Tour-level finals, since the defeat to Sabalenka in Madrid last season, while only Elena Rybakina can match her haul of three titles so far in 2024.
This was the longest singles final of the year so far on the WTA Tour, while it was the fourth show-piece match in a WTA 1000 event to be decided by a third set tie-break.
Since the format’s introduction in 2009, only Serena Williams (13) and Victoria Azarenka (10) have more WTA 1000 titles than Swiatek, whose tally of nine equals the efforts of Simona Halep and Petra Kvitova.
Meanwhile, of players to have made at least 10 appearances at clay court tournaments, only Chris Evert, Margaret Court and Steffi Graf have a higher ratio of victories in the Open Era than Swiatek (8/18).
In fact, Swiatek has now claimed a tournament victory in 31 per cent (9/29) of the WTA 1000 main draws she has entered, the highest percentage of any player since the format’s introduction in 2009.
Sinner joins Alcaraz in withdrawing from Italian Open
Jannik Sinner has joined Carlos Alcaraz in withdrawing from the Italian Open due to injury.
Sinner, who pulled out of his quarter-final tie with Felix Auger-Aliassime at the Madrid Open this week, is suffering with a hip issue.
It means the world number two will not participate in what would have been a home tournament in Rome, in what is sure to be a disappointment to the Italian fans.
"It is not easy to write this message but after speaking again with the doctors and specialists about my hip problems I have to announce that unfortunately I will not be able to play in Rome," he wrote on X.
"Obviously I'm very sad that I didn't recover, it being one of my favourite tournaments ever. I couldn't wait to come back and play at home in front of the Italian crowd."
Sinner added he was focusing on recovering in time to play at the French Open, which starts towards the end of May.
On Friday, world number one Alcaraz withdrew from the Italian Open due to an arm problem.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
