Katie Boulter secured one of the best wins of her career thus far yesterday, as she rallied to beat Elena Rybakina in three enthralling sets.
What made the victory even more special was the fact that it actually marked the second match she had played that day, forced to double up to make up for the tournament having missed an entire day due to rain delays.
Speaking straight after the match, Boulter gave her verdict on the Queen’s crowd, thanking them for helping roar her to such an iconic victory.
However, when she later went to her press conference, it felt like the Brit’s pride had only increased, as she spoke glowingly about the win.
Katie Boulter on whether her win over Elena Rybakina is the best of her career
One reporter began by asking Katie Boulter what such a battling win in such unusual circumstances says about her as a person and a player.
This provoked a lengthy, insightful answer, as she pondered: “Yeah, I think you saw a lot of tennis today. I mean, you saw me on Court 1, you saw me on centre. You’ve seen completely different personalities.
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“I think this morning was about building from yesterday’s match and trying to get some more reps on the court. I really felt like I came out of the blocks really quick, but then it was almost like I was playing against myself.
“That in itself is a test. I handled that really well and gained a lot of confidence from it, and then I come out tonight, and ultimately, I’m the underdog. I’ve got nothing to lose.
“You know, six hours in between, it’s not easy to handle. It’s a rare occurrence in tennis for that to happen. To play two matches in one day, as well, is very different. It’s a different feel going out for the second match when you’ve already played an hour.”
Boulter then explained what such a win ‘proves’ about her: “I think for me it proves to me that everything that I’m doing in the gym, everything that I’m doing on the court, is in the right way. It means that, you know, I feel good going out, playing five sets of tennis, and I still feel like I can go and play more.
“I think that’s a great place to be in. Yeah, I mean, my goal now is to recover as much as I can and get myself ready for tomorrow, because I’m not done yet (smiling).”
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Then asked if this was the biggest win of her career, Boulter began by insisting: “I hope there’s more to come.”
She then added: “I think it’s up there. It’s definitely one of a few.
“I think the occasion, the place, the crowd, the moment against her, of course, as a champion, it definitely felt like I wanted to take it to her and test myself.
“Yeah, I think I did an unbelievable job with that.”
All of Katie Boulter’s career top-ten wins
This marked Boulter’s fifth top-ten win of her career, and the highest-ranked scalp by some distance.
Interestingly, four of those five wins have all come on grass, highlighting her penchant for success against those who, on paper, should beat her on this surface.
| Year | Event | Round | Opponent | Opponent’s rank |
| 2022 | Eastbourne | Second Round | Karolina Pliskova | 7 |
| 2022 | Wimbledon | Second Round | Karolina Pliskova | 7 |
| 2024 | United Cup | Round Robin | Jessica Pegula | 5 |
| 2025 | Wimbledon | Second Round | Paula Badosa | 9 |
| 2026 | Queen’s | Quarter-finals | Elena Rybakina | 2 |
Her first two top-ten wins came in 2022, and ironically both came against former world number one Karolina Pliskova. At the time, she sat seventh in the world, and Boulter beat her at both Eastbourne and Wimbledon, but sadly lost in the very next round of both events.
She then had to wait another two years for her next elite-level scalp, this time defeating the world number five Jessica Pegula at the United Cup.
Paula Badosa marked her standout win of 2025, again at Wimbledon, but beating the second-best player in the world in Elena Rybakina at Queen’s surely outranks all of those mentioned.
