Nottingham Open: Katie Boulter won her maiden WTA Tour championship in the Rothesay Nottingham Open final, defeating fellow Briton Jodie Burrage.
Boulter, who is from Leicester and considers this competition to be her home tournament, defeated Burrage in the first all-British final at this level since 1977.
She had previously only reached the quarter-finals, but she now joins Johanna Konta as a British champion, confirming her status as British No. 1 and rocketing up the rankings to within the top 80.
🏆 @katiecboulter 🏆@the_LTA | #RothesayOpen pic.twitter.com/VW3jxjTa10
— wta (@WTA) June 18, 2023
At the conclusion, the British couple shared a heartfelt embrace as Boulter relished her moment.
“I dreamed of this moment, of winning this tournament, as a little girl when I was four years old,” remarked Boulter.
“Coming here as a fan and now as a player and finding a way to win means more than anything to me. I’ve played so many British players that we recognise an all-British final as a remarkable achievement.”
Andy Murray won the men’s Challenger Tour event, completing a British double.
Despite her defeat, it was a breakthrough week for Burrage, who reached her maiden final, and with three British women entering the last four, it was a powerful reaction to complaints over the dearth of British women in the French Open singles last month.
Indeed, it is their finest tournament performance since Virginia Wade and Sue Barker dominated the women’s game in the 1970s.
Playing in Nottingham has always meant a lot to Boulter, especially with her mother and grandfather watching, and she made sure this was her moment from the start, charging into a 3-0 lead in the first set courtesy to an early break.
Burrage had several tough matches this week and admitted she was “hanging by a thread” physically following a recent injury, and she battled to match her colleague throughout.
Boulter broke again, but she missed her first opportunity to serve out the set, only to swiftly calm any anxieties by breaking Burrage for the third time to claim the first set.
So good to see two Brits battle it out in a @WTA final. Congrats @katiecboulter and great effort @jodieburrage. Super happy for you both!!
— Anne Keothavong (@annekeothavong) June 18, 2023
Another early break in the second set reinforced her hold on the match, which she never let go of, as she won her first title on her second championship point.
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