Katie Boulter shares true feelings on Emma Raducanu rivalry after losing crown

Katie Boulter has played down the idea of a rivalry with Emma Raducanu despite being overtaken by her fellow Brit in the rankings. The former was recently dumped out of the Cincinnati Open in the very first round, losing to Olga Danilovic in straight sets. Boulter would have set up a second-round meeting with Raducanu had she managed to win.

The two players have flown the British flag in women's tennis over the last few years, with Sonay Kartal having burst onto the scene more recently. Boulter's defeat to Danilovic saw her slip to 50th in the WTA rankings, her lowest position in 18 months. It leaves her behind Raducanu and Kartal, who sit 39th and 48th respectively.

In spite of her latest rankings blow, which has seen Raducanu regain the British top spot, Boulter is not overly worried about the bigger picture.

Speaking to Sky Sports, she said: "Honestly, I haven't paid too much attention to it. It's awesome that people are pushing themselves.

"The last few weeks have been tough. I have been sick, so my priority here is getting myself healthy and get moving in the right direction."

There is little sign of bad blood between Boulter and Raducanu, who teamed up to play doubles at Queen's Club earlier this year. They also practiced with each other the day before their first-round matches at Wimbledon.

Boulter was also quizzed on the possibility of teaming up with her fiance Alex de Minaur in the US Open mixed doubles. The happy couple were not included in the original line-up but it has been speculated that a wildcard could be heading their way.

"If the US Open are watching this... I am not doing that," joked Boulter, before adding: "No, it would be a privilege to play. We have played mixed before.

"It would be nice to get on the court with him. Yeah, it would be nice to get the chance. I'm not sure what we are going to try and do to get one [a wildcard]."

Thankfully for Boulter, her future husband has revealed that he is already on the case. Earlier this week, he said: "I think we're doing our best to put a really good case forward to hopefully get that wildcard.

"Yeah, I mean, one of the most enjoyable moments I've had on a tennis court was playing Wimbledon mixed doubles with her. As I said, it was pretty damn cool, so I would love to go back and play again.

"To play such an exciting event with the world's best tennis players would be pretty cool, so hopefully they give us a chance to do that. I'm keeping my fingers crossed."

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