Boulter beats top seed Rybakina at Queen’s to reach semi-finals
7 verified5 unconfirmed1 contested
British wildcard Katie Boulter defeated world number two Elena Rybakina in three sets at the Queen's Club Championships, recording the biggest win of her career by ranking. The world number 73 played two matches on Friday after Thursday's rain delay, first beating Romania's Jaqueline Cristian before ousting the top seed in front of an enthusiastic home crowd. Boulter's victory sets up a semi-final against Croatia's Donna Vekic on Saturday. Fellow Briton Emma Raducanu also advanced to the quarter-finals with a win over Sorana Cirstea, but her last-eight match against Kamilla Rakhimova was moved to Saturday due to a packed schedule. Raducanu could potentially need to play two matches on the same day if she wins. Boulter credited the crowd for carrying her through the match and said she trusted her game and team.
What’s verified
Katie Boulter, ranked 73rd, defeated world number two Elena Rybakina in three sets at the Queen's Club Championships.
The match lasted two hours and 39 minutes.
Boulter also won her second-round match against Jaqueline Cristian earlier on Friday after rain postponed play on Thursday.
Boulter will face Donna Vekic in Saturday's semi-finals.
Emma Raducanu beat Sorana Cirstea 6-4 6-2 to reach the quarter-finals.
Raducanu's quarter-final match against Kamilla Rakhimova was moved to Saturday.
Boulter told the crowd, "Honestly, I am not really sure what to say. I feel like this win goes to the crowd that got me through it tonight."
Where accounts differ
The final set score is reported differently: one source says Boulter won 6-4 in the third set, while another source says she won 7-5. Both sources agree the first two sets were 7-5 and 2-6.
Not yet confirmed
One source reports that Boulter saved 12 of 14 break points faced in the match.
One source states that Vekic entered the main draw as a lucky loser after Marta Kostyuk withdrew with an ankle injury.
One source reports that Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko will miss Wimbledon after injuring her medial collateral ligament at Queen's.
One source reports that 18-year-old Iva Jovic upset second seed Amanda Anisimova to reach the semi-finals.
One source notes that Raducanu's season was disrupted by a post-viral illness that kept her off the tour for more than two months.
Key figures
Katie Boulter (British tennis player), Elena Rybakina (Kazakh tennis player, world number two), Donna Vekic (Croatian tennis player), Jaqueline Cristian (Romanian tennis player), Emma Raducanu (British tennis player), Sorana Cirstea (Romanian tennis player), Kamilla Rakhimova (Russian-born Uzbek tennis player), Tatjana Maria (German tennis player), Victoria Mboko (Canadian tennis player), Iva Jovic (American tennis player), Amanda Anisimova (American tennis player).
Sources: BBC News, Sky Sports
