Roland Garros 2026: Katie Boulter beaten by 28th seed Anastasia Potapova in second round
• 2 minute read
Katie Boulter’s hopes of reaching the third round at Roland Garros for the first time have come to an end after losing out in a deciding set against 28th seed Anastasia Potapova.
Boulter edged a tight opening set on Court 13 at the Stade Roland Garros but couldn’t sustain her momentum, eventually losing out to the Austrian 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 in two hours and seven minutes.
The Brit was bidding to reach the third round at Roland Garros for the first time in her career.
Boulter’s loss now means there are no remaining British tennis players left in the singles draws in Paris, after Francesca Jones lost out in her second round match and Emma Raducanu, Cam Norrie and Jacob Fearnley all exited in the first round.
Boulter has been honest about her struggles on clay in the past, but has demonstrated just how far she's come on the surface over the past couple of months. The British No.3 recorded wins at the Open de Rouen, Madrid Open and Trophee Clarins, before rounding off the clay swing with a second round run in Paris.
Both players struggled on serve early on, with seven breaks occurring in a turbulent opening set. Boulter made an aggressive start but found it difficult to build momentum, landing just 44% of first serves and winning only 26% (5/19) of points behind her second serve.
However, she made up for it on the return, where she claimed 68% (13/19) of points on Potapova’s second serve, converting four breaks to stay in contention.
After initially trading breaks, both players began to settle and after sealing back-to-back holds, the Brit found herself staring down at two set points at 6-5, 40-15 up.
The first chance slipped away, but she converted the second with a well worked cross-court forehand that forced an error from Potapova to take the set.
After taking a moment off court, Potapova stepped back out onto court with renewed confidence and capitalised once again on some shaking serving from the Brit to open up a 5-1 lead.
However, three-time WTA titleholder Boulter soon put a stop to Potapova’s momentum, reeling off three games in a row before the world No.30 eventually held firm to level the match at the second time of asking.
The 25-year-old Austrian held her dominance in the decider, breaking in the opening game before extending her advantage with a double break cushion. From there, she remained in complete control of the match and went on to close out the victory in just over two hours and put an end to Boulter's hopes of reaching the third round in the French capital.
