Queen’s Club Sees Promising Start for New British Doubles Duo.
A potentially exciting British tennis partnership may have just been born at Queen’s Club, as Emma Raducanu and Katie Boulter cruised to a confident first-round win in the doubles draw of the Queen’s Club Championships.
In their first official match as a team, Raducanu and Boulter comfortably dispatched the pairing of Wu Fang-Hsien and Jiang Xinyu in straight sets. The victory signals a promising beginning for the British duo, who displayed strong chemistry and court presence throughout the match.
This marked only Raducanu’s second professional doubles appearance, having made her debut in the format back in 2022. Despite her limited experience, the 2021 US Open winner looked poised and relaxed beside British No.1 Boulter.
Adding to the significance of their win, this year’s tournament is historic in itself. It is the first time since 1973 that the Queen’s Club in West Kensington has included women’s tennis, ending a 52 year absence from the venue’s schedule.
Raducanu and Boulter are also competing in singles matches, facing Spain’s Cristina Bucsa and Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic respectively. Their doubles victory could provide both players with a confidence boost as they head into the next round of their individual campaigns.
Before the match, Raducanu admitted she felt more nervous than usual.
“I don’t know if it was obvious, but I was probably more nervous than in singles because I wasn’t really sure what to do,” she said. “Katie made me feel so at ease once we got on court. I’m really happy we were able to get the win.”
When asked about the possibility of continuing their partnership at Wimbledon, Raducanu played it coy:
“We haven’t spoken about it. It worked really well, so we’re just focusing on this week for now.” Boulter jokingly added, “Scrap what she said we’re going for the Wimbledon title! Just kidding.”
Their performance at Queen’s certainly provided fans with reason to hope. The British pair broke serve early in the first set to take a 4-2 lead, but their opponents managed to break back and level the score. However, Raducanu and Boulter responded swiftly, grabbing another break to close out the set 6-4. The second set was even more dominant, with the pair running away to a 6-2 finish.
While their focus remains on Queen’s Club for now, Wimbledon looms large on the horizon, beginning June 30. Boulter is yet to progress past the third round at her home Grand Slam, while Raducanu matched her best Wimbledon run last year by reaching the fourth round.
With momentum on their side and a strong debut performance in doubles, fans may not have seen the last of this promising partnership.
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