Boulter upsets top seed Rybakina, Vekic wins Czech doubleheader at Queen's
Katie Boulter is through to the semifinals are set for the HSBC Championships at Queen's Club, fueled by her second top five win on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz.
With a 7-5, 2-6, 7-5 upset of top seeded Elena Rybakina, the British wild card advances to the final four in London and will face Croatia's Donna Vekic in Saturday's semifinals.
Boulter, World No. 73, earned her first win against Rybakina, losing the previous two meetings in straight sets (Indian Wells 2025 and Wimbledon 2023). The Briton is now into her second semifinal of 2026 following Ostrava, where she eventually won the title.
"I think my goal today was to play better than I did last time in Wimbledon," Boulter said to press. "I felt like I really let the occasion get to me that time, and I wanted to prove to myself and also to other people that I'm a better tennis player than that match.
"That one scarred me a little bit, and I wanted to come out today and prove that I can swing and I can just go for it, because I didn't let myself go for it in the last one."
The win over Rybakina marked Boulter's second of the day. With her second-round match against Jaqueline Cristian being pushed to Friday morning because of rain on Thursday, Boulter prevailed against the Romanian 6-3, 6-1 before ousting the World No. 2 in the PIF WTA Rankings.
Here's what else happened in London throughout the day:
Vekic wins doubleheader against the Czechs
Croatia's Donna Vekic defeated a pair of Czechs on Friday to reach the semifinals. With several matches canceled because of weather on Thursday, Vekic was one of a few players that had to double-up on singles matches Friday. She opened with a 7-6 (9), 6-3 win over Marie Bouzkova to qualify for the quarterfinals -- finishing a rained out match from Thursday -- and then edged out veteran Karolina Pliskova 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 in a thriller for a spot in the semifinals.
The match against Pliskova was the players' 12th overall meeting, and Vekic has won the last three.
Vekic is now into her second tour-level semifinal of 2026, and has made the most of her opportunity as a lucky loser. She earned a spot in the main draw after Marta Kostyuk pulled out with an ankle injury, and Vekic now has a chance to reach her first tour-level final since Bad Homburg in 2024.
Boulter vs. Vekic preview: Saturday's semifinal will be their first meeting in two years, with the last taking place on hard court in San Diego. Boulter prevailed in a 6-4, 6-3 quarterfinals win over the No. 8 seed Vekic in their only previous meeting. Boulter ultimately won the tournament, defeating Kostyuk in the final for her first WTA 500 title in her career.
Jovic to await either Raducanu, Rakhimova
With an impressive three-set win over compatriot and 2025 Queen's finalist Amanda Anisimova, Jovic advanced to her fourth semifinal of 2026 after runs in Auckland, Hobart and Charleston. The win snapped Jovic's 0-4 record against top five opponents, and it was Jovic's first encounter with Anisimova.
Jovic now awaits the winner of Great Britain's Emma Raducanu or Uzbek lucky loser Kamilla Rakhimova. Raducanu and Rakhimova's quarterfinal match was originally scheduled to be last on Andy Murray Stadium Friday, but because of the length of the previous four matches, it's now being moved to Saturday.
To begin play Friday, Raducanu ousted Sorana Cirstea in straight sets, while Rakhimova dashed the hopes of an all-British quarter. She bested wild card Harriet Dart in a near-three hour marathon 5-7, 6-1, 7-5.
Jovic is 2-0 vs. Rakhimova, most recently winning Dubai of this year. She has never played Raducanu.