Katie Boulter's grand slam season ended in bitter disappointment as she suffered a 6-1, 6-0 defeat to seventh seed Karolina Muchova in the second round of the US Open, a result that extended the British No 1's losing streak to five consecutive matches.
The match took place under the retractable roof of Louis Armstrong Stadium after heavy rain suspended play across the grounds of the Billie Jean King National Tennis Centre. Boulter and Muchova had initially been scheduled to compete on Court 17 after the men's first round match between Rafael Jodar and Yunchaokete Bu, but with Jodar, the 12th seed, shockingly trailing the Chinese lucky loser 2-6, 1-6, 1-4, the pair were quickly moved to the main stadium.
A summer of change for Boulter
This has been a life-changing summer for Boulter, who married fellow player Alex de Minaur in July. However, after a promising start to the season that saw her win her fourth WTA title in Ostrava and return to the top 60 after her win over world No 2 Elena Rybakina at Queen's, things have stalled.
Until her first round win in Cincinnati last month, she had lost five consecutive matches, including a painful straight-sets loss in the first round of Wimbledon. Confidence has been hard to come by.
Muchova's explosive return
Boulter was completely outclassed by a sublime Muchova, who employed her usual brand of silky, all-court shotmaking, lashing forehand winners past the British No 1 and sweeping forward to the net. Muchova is competing for the first time since narrowly losing the Wimbledon final to her compatriot Linda Noskova after undergoing a "small surgery", but she has enjoyed an explosive start in New York. This win was preceded by a similarly dominant 6-3, 6-0 victory over Sinja Kraus, her two wins early indications that she may well be in contention for another grand slam title.
Pegula impresses with serving masterclass
Elsewhere, it took 56 minutes for Jessica Pegula to handle business in her second round match. In her 6-3, 6-1 win over former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin, Pegula lost seven points on her serve in the entire match, facing zero break points with 41% of her serves going unreturned.
Although her opponent is notorious for her remarkably poor returning, Pegula's upgrades to her serve are a reflection of how she has continued to improve over her career for such a long period. "I love being able to keep challenging myself as a person and as a player," said Pegula. "To play this sport, you have to have a lot of passion, you have to be a little crazy. You have to be a little neurotic with things. I like working on things, I like working hard. I love chasing – being able to get better at everything, knowing that I'm probably not ever going to get there but that's a whole point."
Pegula in the race for No 1
This constant improvement now places Pegula at a fascinating intersection in her career. After solidifying herself as one of the top players for many years, she now seeks to take the last great step forward by winning her first grand slam title. Pegula is undoubtedly part of the top group of favourites after an excellent run to the final of Cincinnati, where she beat Toronto champion Iga Swiatek in a brilliant three-setter before losing to a supreme Coco Gauff in the final.
Pegula has reached the final and semi-final here over the last two seasons, both times losing to Aryna Sabalenka in two high-quality matches. She has returned to the career high ranking of No 3 that she first attained in 2022 and remains one of the most consistent players on the tour. The question, as ever, with Pegula is whether she can topple her more successful rivals when they are at the top of their games in the final two rounds of the tournaments.
Although Elena Rybakina has begun the tournament with a clear advantage over her rivals for the No 1 ranking, the Kazakhstani needing a semi-final to definitively seal the top spot, Pegula is also in the race. Should Pegula win the title and Rybakina lose before the semi-finals, Pegula would also become the new world No 1.
