Katie Boulter clinches her first WTA main tour title with a convincing 6-3 6-3 victory over Jodie Burrage to boost her up to No 80 in the world
- Boulter came out victorious in the all-British final against Burrage
- The victory sees the 26-year-old
Katie Boulter delighted her supporters by clinching a first WTA main tour title barely twenty miles from where she grew up.
The 26-year-old from the Leicestershire village of Woodhouse Eaves took the Rothesay Nottingham Open title with a convincing 6-3 6-3 victory over compatriot Jodie Burrage in the first all-British final at this level since 1977.
Boulter becomes the first GB woman to win on the main circuit since Emma Raducanu claimed the 2021 US Open, and it will put her at a career high ranking just inside the top eighty.
The $250,000 tournament was won by Jo Konta in 2021, and the British women’s strong showing on the home grass in the past two weeks has been in sharp contrast to their efforts on the clay.
The more experienced Boulter took advantage of a nervy start from Surrey’s Burrage, who nonetheless manage to pull a break back in the first set before her opponent served it out.
Katie Boulter delighted her supporters by clinching a first WTA main tour title
There is no time to rest as she will play at the WTA event in Birmingham this week
There is no time to rest as she will play at the WTA event in Birmingham this week
She continued to impose her more powerful game during the second set and eventually won in 73 minutes.
Boulter has spent too long ranked below 100, partly due to poor luck with injuries, and her new position of around 78 is much more accurate reflection of her ball striking abilities.
She will have more chance to improve it when she plays at the WTA event in Birmingham this week.
Burrage has the consolation of amassing a good haul of ranking points, which will go a long way to defending those she earned on the grass this time a year ago.
