British duo lose 6-2, 7-5 in doubles, but focus shifts to singles as Queen’s Club action continues.
Emma Raducanu and Katie Boulter left the court smiling, despite suffering a straight-sets defeat in their doubles match at Queen’s Club. The British pair lost 6-2, 7-5 to top seeds Erin Routliffe and Lyudmyla Kichenok, but kept spirits high ahead of their upcoming singles challenges.
With a place in the semi-finals at stake, Raducanu charged towards the net late in the second set, attempting to swat away a floating ball. Normally automatic, her forehand drive volley flew past the baseline, landing embarrassingly near the back fence. She reacted with humour, covering her face with her palm, while Boulter laughed alongside her.
The mood remained light throughout, despite the loss. Routliffe, a former world No 1 in doubles and 2023 US Open champion, alongside the reigning US Open champion Kichenok, proved too strong for the relatively inexperienced British duo. Their superior net play and baseline consistency exposed Raducanu and Boulter’s unfamiliarity with the doubles format.
Still, the British pair showed fight. After dropping the first set, they battled back from an early break in the second to make it a tighter contest. Yet Routliffe’s commanding presence at the net and Kichenok’s tidy all-court game ultimately sealed their place in the next round.
The high-profile match drew huge interest from fans, but controversy surrounded its court assignment. Instead of playing on the showpiece Andy Murray Arena, which holds 7,700 spectators, Raducanu and Boulter were relegated to a smaller court with space for only 1,000. Thousands of fans missed out as the match went unbroadcast due to existing television contracts, a familiar frustration on both the WTA and ATP tours.
Queen’s marked only Raducanu’s second appearance in a doubles tournament. Her first-round win alongside Boulter against Wu Fang-hsien and Jiang Xinyu was her first-ever doubles victory. Injury setbacks throughout her young career have limited her ability to add doubles to her workload, but experiences like these may prove invaluable.
Doubles offers opportunities to develop underused skills such as volleying, serving, and returning in match conditions, without the same pressure as singles. It also injects a sense of fun into an otherwise gruelling sport — something Raducanu has openly struggled to balance. With Great Britain becoming regular contenders in the Billie Jean King Cup, a future partnership between Boulter and Raducanu could serve as a key asset.
Despite the doubles exit, both players used the outing as vital preparation for their singles campaigns. Raducanu returns to action on Thursday against Slovakia’s Rebecca Sramkova, aiming to build on her opening-round victory over Cristina Bucsa. Boulter faces a tough assignment against world No 10 Diana Shnaider, the 21-year-old Russian rising star.
Elsewhere, Britain’s Sonay Kartal saw her Queen’s Club run end. After stunning world No 16 Daria Kasatkina in the opening round, Kartal fell 6-1, 6-3 to Amanda Anisimova. The eighth-seeded American overpowered Kartal, dominating the rallies and neutralising any threat from the British No 3. Despite the defeat, Kartal’s first-round upset remains the biggest win of her career so far.
As Queen’s Club continues, British hopes rest on Raducanu and Boulter carrying their momentum forward in singles play. Both have shown flashes of confidence and quality, but tougher tests await as the tournament heads into its latter stages
