British number one Katie Boulter has reached a new milestone, claiming the first WTA Tour clay-court victory of her career at the age of 28.
Boulter advanced to the second round of the Madrid Open with a hard-fought 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 win over Czech opponent Katerina Siniakova.
Although firmly established among the world’s top players, Boulter’s experience on clay has been limited. Her appearance at the prestigious WTA 1000 event in Madrid — a key stop in the lead-up to next month’s French Open — marks only her fifth main-draw outing at a tour-level clay-court tournament.
“I’ve always known clay would be my toughest surface, but I never really gave myself the chance to develop and build on it,” Boulter told BBC Sport. “With injuries and the timing of them, last year was really my first proper clay-court season.”
Reflecting on her progress, Boulter added: “I felt my level was improving last year. I was unlucky not to beat [Paula] Badosa in the French Open first round — I felt I deserved more from last season.”
Her victory sets up a second-round clash against Italian sixth seed Jasmine Paolini, a French Open finalist last year.
“I hope I can show that — even if not this week or next — I can play well on clay,” Boulter said. “You see a lot of big ball-strikers succeeding on this surface, and I’ve asked myself: why can’t it be me?”
Meanwhile, British number five Francesca Jones secured a place in the main draw after winning her second qualifying match. The 24-year-old, competing in only her second event since collapsing on court earlier this month, battled past Spain’s Cristina Bucsa 7-6 (7-3), 3-6, 6-1.
It marks the first time Jones will feature in the main draw of a WTA 1000 event — the most prestigious tournaments outside of the four Grand Slams.
