Boulter seals biggest career title; Nicholls and Hewett amongst haul of British title-winners
• 4 MINUTE READ
It was another dominant week in British tennis, with six tennis stars claiming silverware at events across the globe.
Get the latest from British tennis stars, as Katie Boulter, Olivia Nicholls and Alfie Hewett headline a collection of titles across the WTA, ATP Challenger, ITF and Uniqlo Wheelchair tour.
Boulter clinches maiden WTA 500 title in San Diego
It was a week to remember for Boulter who triumphed at the WTA 500 event in San Diego to lift her second, and biggest title to date.
Boulter etched her name on the trophy after pulling off a comeback win over world No.32 Marta Kostyuk, winning 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 – making her the ninth British woman to win a WTA title in the USA.
The British No.1 took down a host of seeds en route to the title, including world No.13 Beatriz Haddad Maia, Donna Vekic and Emma Navaro, with the 27-year-old having now recorded seven wins against top 40 players in 2024.
The victory sees Boulter skyrocket 22 places in the rankings to break into the WTA top 30 for the first time. Now standing at a career-high ranking of word No.27, the Briton will head to the upcoming WTA 1000 event at the BNP Paribas Open Indian Wells in exceptional form.
Read more about Boulter’s victory in San Diego
Nicholls clinches second WTA doubles title
Doubles star Nicholls and Australia’s Olivia Gadecki raced to victory at the ATX Open, after defeating Katarzya Kawa and Bibiane Schoofs 6-2, 6-4 in the final.
Nicholls and Gadecki proved an unstoppable force across the week, with the pair not dropping a single set en route to the silverware.
The achievement in Austin marks Nicholls' second WTA doubles title, which she adds to the WTA 250 trophy she picked up in Granby back in 2022.
Hewett retains Georgia Open crown
Success kept on coming for the Brits stateside, with wheelchair tennis star Hewett wrapping up back-to-back titles at the Georgia Open.
Alfie Hewett recorded his 60th career singles title across senior and junior competition as he retained his men’s singles title at the Georgia Open with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over world No.1 Tokito Oda.
Second seed Hewett reeled off six games in a row as he came from 2-0 down in the second set to complete his first win over Oda since they met in the same final 51 weeks ago, earning his third ITF 1 singles title of 2024.
Hewett was one of three Brits in three Georgia Open finals as Andy Lapthorne and Greg Slade notched up more impressive performances after recently dominating the quad singles and doubles at the Bolton Indoor ITF 3 and ITF 2 tournaments.
Fourth seed Lapthorne beat second seed David Wagner 6-3, 6-1 to reach the quad singles final before finishing runner-up to Israel’s Guy Sasson 6-1, 6-0. Meanwhile, Lapthorne and Slade took top seeds Heath Davidson and Robert Shaw all the way to a deciding match tie-break in the quad doubles final before the Australian-Canadian paring eventually prevailed 6-3, 3-6, (10-5).
Hewett, Lapthorne and Slade will now be joined by fellow Brits Gordon Reid, Lucy Shuker and Cornelia Oosthuizen at the Cajun Classic in Baton Rouge, with the second Super Series of 2024 beginning on Tuesday.
British doubles stars claim victory across Challenger and ITF Tours
Marcus Willis lifted a fourth career ATP Challenger title at the Lille Challenger, having partnered American Christian Harrison.
Willis and Harrison defeated Britain’s Joshua Paris and France's Antoine Escoffier 6-2, 6-2 in the semi-finals before capping off an inspiring week with a 7-6(6), 6-3 victory over French pair Titouan Droguet and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.
Willis is now up to a new career-high ranking of world No.129.
Meanwhile on the ITF tour, James Davis and Matthew Summers joined forces to take home the title at the M15 Villena.
The all-British pair recorded a statement win in the final as they eased to a 6-1, 6-2 win over Marco Berti and Federico Iannaccone, marking their second title together (M15 Budapest, 2023).
Skupski and Draper impress in Acapulco
Elsewhere on the ATP Tour, doubles British No.2 Neal Skupski finished runner-up in Acapulco alongside partner Santiago Gonzalez.
This is the second final the duo has reached in their last three tournaments, since they came together as a partnership at the beginning of the year.
Skupski and Gonzalez powered through to the final without dropping a set before falling short against Polish duo Jan Zielinski and Hugo Nys 6-3, 6-2 in the championship match.
In the singles draw, Jack Draper enjoyed a stellar week with the 22-year-old reaching his first ATP 500 semi-final.
Draper defeated world No.17 Tommy Paul, Yoshihito Nishioka and Miomir Kecmanovic in straight sets before being forced to withdraw from his battle against eventual champion Alex de Minaur in the deciding set due to illness.
An impressive week from the now British No.2 sees Draper reach a new career-high ranking of world No.37.
