Emma Raducanu loses British number one spot to Katie Boulter

Katie Boulter is the new female British number one heading into a home tournament at Wimbledon after her recent performances in the Surbiton Trophy.

Boulter has replaced the young star Raducanu as the number one, with the injured set to miss another month of action and thus, won’t be able to feature at Wimbledon having crashed out in the Second Round last year.

Raducanu has not stepped foot onto a tennis court and played a competitive match since April when she tuned out at the Stuttgart Open and since then she’s undergone several operations including on her ankle and hands.

Since stunning the tennis world back in 2021 by winning the US Open, Raducanu has struggled for form and fitness having never really tested and been able to compete at that same level, perhaps achieving too much too soon.

Katie Boulter new female British number one

Boulter has soared up the rankings since Raducanu’s slip in form and has now moved up to number one in Britain, as well as jumping two spots ahead of Raducanu in the ATP World Rankings, putting her 126th.

😨 Une grosse pensée pour Raducanu.
✅ opération poignet droit
✅ opération poignet gauche
✅ opération cheville gauche
Y’a plus qu’à, Emma.
Courage. pic.twitter.com/8WllxUKRAW

— Benoit Maylin (@BenoitMaylin) May 23, 2023

The new number one managed to reach the semi-finals of the grass tournament ahead of Wimbledon but did have an anxious wait watching the final because had Katie Swann won the trophy, she would’ve jumped straight to number one, instead she remains fourth.

The 26-year-old was quizzed after achieving the historic feat of becoming British number one and paid homage to the ones that had gone before her in the rankings.

Boulter keen to keep on improving amid Raducanu’s absence

She said: Naturally, I am very proud to join the women before me who have reached that historic spot.

“However, my main goal remains on improving my ranking and continuing to work hard.”

Given how lowly-ranked Boulter is in terms of the world, it’s unlikely she will be going far at Wimbledon, however with a home crowd behind her anything will be possible and she will be taking confidence from her performances in Surbiton.