Emma Raducanu fights off injury to reach Queen's Club semi-finals as Katie Boulter joins her after stunning Rybakina
Emma Raducanu overcame a painful slip on the grass to beat Kamilla Rakhimova 6-3 7-5, while Katie Boulter shocked world No 2 Elena Rybakina the night before. Both British women are through to the semi-finals at the HSBC Championships.
Raducanu overcomes injury scare
Emma Raducanu's quarter-final against Kamilla Rakhimova had to wait until Saturday morning after Thursday's total washout and a late Friday finish. Leading 6-3, 3-1, the British No 1 slipped while changing direction, clutching her left thigh in clear discomfort. She took a medical timeout, returned with strapping, and saw her lead evaporate as Rakhimova broke back. Raducanu then dug deep, breaking twice more before clinching the match on her third match point. She said afterwards:
I think it's a mix of adrenaline. It was tough to take the fall, I felt like I was in a pretty good spot. On grass these things happen. I found it pretty tough to regroup but I'm really proud of how I did that with the help of you guys.
The 23-year-old later removed the strapping and will now have to prepare for a semi-final later this afternoon against American teenager Iva Jovic, the sixth seed and world No 19.
Boulter's giant-killing Friday
Katie Boulter put on the performance of her career late Friday evening, ending a marathon day by toppling top seed and world No 2 Elena Rybakina 7-5, 2-6, 6-4. It was her second win of the day, having earlier dismissed Jaqueline Cristian 6-1 6-3. The 29-year-old British wildcard saved 11 break points across the match and fed off the home crowd:
Honestly, I'm not really sure what to say, but I really feel like this win definitely goes towards the crowd that got me through it tonight and stayed out here. The atmosphere was absolutely incredible.
It marked the best win by ranking of Boulter's career, surpassing her previous high of beating then-world No 5 Jessica Pegula. Her semi-final opponent will be Croatia's Donna Vekic, a former Wimbledon semi-finalist.
Rain, flypasts and a packed schedule
The tournament schedule was severely compressed after Thursday's entire day was washed out. On Friday, Raducanu had to defeat Sorana Cirstea 6-4 6-2 — her first top-20 win in over a year — while Boulter won her last-16 match earlier in the afternoon. Rybakina herself had already played a three-set battle against Tatjana Maria. Raducanu's quarter-final was pushed to Saturday morning, with a brief, bizarre interruption when the King's birthday flypast roared over the court during a service game. The domino effect means both semi-finals must be played on Saturday afternoon.
- All Thursday play cancelled due to heavy rain.
- Raducanu beats Cirstea 6-4 6-2 to reach the quarter-finals.
- Boulter defeats Cristian 6-1 6-3 in the last 16.
- Boulter stuns top seed Rybakina 7-5 2-6 6-4 in the evening quarter-final.
- Raducanu overcomes an injury to beat Rakhimova 6-3 7-5 in the delayed quarter-final.
- Semi-finals: Raducanu vs Jovic, Boulter vs Vekic.
Saturday's semi-final match-ups
Raducanu will face Iva Jovic, the 18-year-old American who reached the last four by beating Amanda Anisimova. Meanwhile, Boulter takes on Donna Vekic, who arrived as a lucky loser but boasts a Wimbledon 2024 semi-final appearance and a career-high ranking of No 17. For Raducanu, the quick turnaround poses the biggest question after her fall, while Boulter will ride the momentum of the biggest win of her life.
