TIM HENMAN WARNS EMMA RADUCANU THAT BRITISH RIVAL WILL GO FURTHER AT WIMBLEDON

Tim Henman has warned Emma Raducanu that her British rival Katie Boulter will go further at Wimbledon in the women’s singles this year.

Boulter, 27, beat Raducanu in the Nottingham Open semi-finals two weeks ago and went on to clinch the trophy as she registered her third-ever WTA Tour title.

Raducanu, 21, was tipped to become the new dominant force in British tennis when she sensationally won the US Open as a teenage qualifier three years ago.

But despite recently earning her first-ever win over a top 10 player, Raducanu has mostly struggled with form and fitness following her Grand Slam success in 2021 – failing to register a single WTA Tour title ever since – while Boulter snatched the British No.1 spot from Raducanu last year when she was out injured.

Ahead of Wimbledon getting started on July 1, Metro.co.uk asked British tennis legend Henman if Raducanu or Boulter would progress further at SW19 this year.

‘That’s a good question,’ Henman said. ‘I think probably Katie Boulter.

‘She is knocking on the door of the top 20. She’s a bit more experienced and she’s played a lot more tennis.

Boulter will be seeded at Wimbledon for the first time this year after climbing up the rankings to No.32 while Raducanu – ranked as high as world No.10 in 2022 – needed a wildcard to enter and is currently down at world No.168.

British No.1 Boulter, who is dating fellow tennis star Alex de Minaur, reached the third round last year to match her best-ever performance at the tournament.

Raducanu missed Wimbledon last year due to injury but reached the fourth round back in 2021, which is her deepest run at the Championships to date. She surprisingly skipped the French Open this year to focus on the grass-court season.

2024-06-28T06:14:44Z dg43tfdfdgfd