Katie Boulter playfully reversed her earlier stance on teaming up with Emma Raducanu for doubles, quipping that they would aim for the Wimbledon title. The British duo are set to reunite at Queen's on Tuesday, building on their successful partnership from last year.
Doubles Partnership Rekindled
The pair first joined forces at the Andy Murray Arena in 2025, quickly becoming crowd favourites. The former US Open champion Raducanu and British No. 3 Boulter reached the quarter-finals before falling to Erin Routliffe and Lyudmyla Kichenok. Their popularity sparked speculation about a potential Wimbledon reunion.
Boulter had initially dismissed Raducanu's guarded comments about doubles at the Grand Slam. When asked about teaming up at Wimbledon last year, Raducanu said: "We haven't spoken about it. It kind of happened spontaneously but it went pretty well. We're just going to keep trying to do as best as we can this week and take it from there."
However, after progressing to the Queen's quarter-finals, Boulter made a tongue-in-cheek remark: "Scrap what she said - we're going for the Wimbledon title." Despite this, they did not enter the doubles event at Wimbledon.
Current Approach
This year, both players are taking a measured approach. "I think Emma and I are very aligned with what we're trying to do," Boulter explained. "I think we will take it one week at a time. For the moment, Queen's is the perfect place for us to get some matches and some time on the grass and to pair up."
Reflecting on their previous experience, Boulter added: "It was super fun, but we both really wanted to win and had one goal in mind. So I think just being back out there again this year and getting a bit more time on the grass is important to both of us, and we'll go from there."
Raducanu echoed these sentiments, expressing excitement about the reunion. "It's really nice to play with Katie," she said. "We try to make Queen's our tournament that we play together. I don't play doubles very often, but the experience last year was really fun. We had a full Court 1 watching and supporting us and it was really fun. I'm excited to hopefully do it again this year and the opportunity to play with her on a home court."
The duo are set to face Zhang Shuai and Storm Hunter in their opening match at Queen's.
