British women have tasted tennis success over the past few years, but only one star has lifted a trophy on the WTA Tour’s Asian leg.
While Emma Raducanu has lifted a major and Johanna Konta landed a career-high of World No. 4 on the WTA Tour rankings, neither woman managed to taste success in Asia.
Britain have had varying success in Asia, with Konta reaching the final of the China Open against Agnieszka Radwańska in 2016.
However, the British star who ended the 24-year wait for WTA title success never managed to crack the rankings in the way she would have liked.
Heather Watson won the Japan Women’s Open in 2012
Heather Watson has only won four career titles, but one of them ended her nation’s wait for success in Asia.
Watson, who is currently on hiatus, captured the Japan Women’s Open in 2012, becoming just the second Brit to win a tournament on the continent.
The other was Andy Murray, who won the Shanghai Masters three times and the China Open once, making Watson the only female to achieve the feat.
Watson’s win was the first time a British woman had won a WTA-level event since Sara Gomer’s Women’s California State Championships win in 1988.
The British star defeated Chang Kai-chen, Misaki Doi, Pauline Parmentier, Anabel Medina Garrigues, and Polona Hercog to lift the trophy in Japan.
British women who have won WTA-level events
British women have tasted some success in recent years, with the likes of Katie Boulter and Sonay Kartal lifting trophies.
Kartal won the Jasmin Open in 2024, a WTA 250 event, after defeating Eva Lys in the semi-final and Rebecca Šramková in the final.
Boulter, meanwhile, won the Nottingham Open in 2023 and the San Diego Open in 2024, which helped her reach a career-high ranking of World No. 23.
The only British women to win a Grand Slam remain Virginia Wade’s Wimbledon win in 1977 and Raducanu’s US Open triumph in 2021.
