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British wildcard Katie Boulter recorded the biggest win of her career with an epic victory over world No. 2 Elena Rybakina to reach the semi-finals of the HSBC Championship at Queen’s Club.
With a 7-5, 2-6, 7-5 win over top seed Rybakina in two hours and 39 minutes, world number 73 Bolter reached the last four and will face Croatia’s Donna Vecic in Saturday’s semi-finals.
The win over Rybakina marked Boulter’s second of the day and her second-round match against Jacqueline Christian was pushed to Friday morning due to rain on Thursday.
Boulter lost 6-3 6-1 against the Romanian, ousting Rybakina, who battled defending champion Tatjana Maria 6-7 (4-7) 7-5 6-0, for her second top-five win on the WTA Tour.
“To be honest, I’m not really sure what to say. I really think this win is for the crowd that got me tonight and stayed here,” Boulter said. BBC Sport.
“I just tried to back myself and go for it. If you don’t go for it, you’re going to regret the things you’ve worked so hard for.”
Boulter added: “I’m standing here a winner because I believed in my game, I believed in my team. I’m very proud today.
“My first semi-final here, it’s really special. I want more so I’m going to focus and prepare myself for tomorrow.”
Vecic reached his second tour-level semifinal of 2026, and made the most of his opportunity as a lucky loser.
She earned a place in the main draw after Marta Kostyuk pulled out with an ankle injury and Vecic now has the chance to reach her first tour-level final since Bad Homburg in 2024.
Along with Boulter, Radukanu is eyeing the semi-finals
Fellow Briton Emma Radukanu may have to play two matches on the same day after reaching the quarter-finals earlier on Friday.
He made it to the quarterfinals for the second year in a row After securing a 6-4 6-2 win over Romanian Sorana Cirstia.
Radukanu’s last-eight match against lucky loser Kamila Rakhimova was originally scheduled to end on Friday at the Andy Murray Arena, but has now moved to Saturday due to the length of the previous four matches.
Home hopes Radukanu could face Eva Jovic in the semi-finals if she wins her clash with Rakhimova. Scheduled for 12.30pm.
The 2025 Wimbledon runner-up secured her first career top five win with a 6-2 3-6 6-3 win over 18-year-old Amanda Anisimova.
“Every match I feel more confident on grass,” Jovic said afterwards. “I’ve got to keep working on my serve, my return — the first few shots on points are crucial on the grass. But it’s trending in the right direction. Just stacking up the matches.”
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