HSBC Championships 2025: Katie Boulter battles past Ajla Tomljanovic in three sets to seal debut win at Queen’s

A two-time WTA title winner on the grass at Nottingham, Boulter moves on to face fifth seed Diana Shnaider in the next round.

Competing in the first women’s event at Queen’s for 52 years, Boulter is relishing every moment of her maiden appearance at one of tennis’s most iconic venues.

“It’s very special,” Boulter added. “To have the women back here feels very special and it’s something I dreamt about – walking out here on this court – after the last couple of years coming to watch the men. I’m just really grateful to be out here and enjoying being on this court.”

She’s one of four Brits in the second round – joining Emma Raducanu, Sonay Kartal and Heather Watson.

Boulter and Raducanu have already claimed a win in the doubles together as well – their first together as a duo.

Now with three British players inside the top 50 and competition heating up for that British No.1 spot, Boulter was full of admiration for the way her Lexus GB Billie Jean King Cup teammates have been competing this week.

"It's awesome, it's nice to see the state of British tennis getting better and better each year," she said.

"I'm extremely happy to see great people doing really good things and each of them works extremely hard and I have a lot of confidence in all of them. I said it to Sonay from day one that I think she's going to be a great player. We all know what Emma's capable of, she's an incredible player and a great person.

"In terms if British No.1, it holds a massive privilege being that person but I've said for the last two years that I've held that position, I'm not focused on it, I'm just focused on myself and gtting my ranking where I want it to be."

There was little to split between the two in the opening set, with both players trying to find their feet on what is a new court for everyone this week.

Boulter had the chance to serve for a one set lead at 5-3 but Tomljanovic managed to force her way to a tie-break. Despite the Aussie's efforts to get back into the set, she made a poor error serving at 5-4 down in the tie-break before leaving a short ball for Boulter to easily dispatch on her first set point.

Tomljanovic’s level had been building, and the world No.64 took over the match in the second set. The 32-year-old reeled off six straight games to level at one set apiece and take a break lead in the third, with all momentum seemingly in her favour.

However, she couldn’t find a way to pull away in the final set as both players struggled on serve. From 3-1 up, Boulter found herself once again pegged back at 4-4 with tension mounting around the Andy Murray Arena.

A three-time WTA champion, Boulter has become accustomed to dealing with the high-pressure moments and held her nerve when she needed it most. The British star saw out her first hold in three service games before sealing her sixth break of the match in her final game.

While it was a rollercoaster match for the 28-year-old, she will come away pleased with how clinical she was on crucial points – winning every break point she managed to create for herself.