Katie Boults up rankings

Katie Boulter will leave Wimbledon feeling like she is not too far away from the game’s elite after pushing 18th seed Naomi Osaka in the second round.

The pair’s meeting in Birmingham two weeks ago lasted just 46 minutes, with Osaka sweeping Boulter aside for the loss of only three games. But the 21-yearold from Leicestershire, who secured her first grand slam victory on Tuesday, showed significant improvement from that match to give one of tennis’ brightest rising stars a decent test.

The 6-3, 6-4 defeat caps off a grass-court campaign that has seen Boulter defeat three top-100 players and former US Open champion Sam Stosur. She will climb to around 111 in the world rankings a week on Monday.

Boulter said: “It’s a very clear thing for me and my team to see someone like that, to play against someone of that calibre. It’s very inspiringtobetwoweekslater much closer to her, actually feeling like I’m in the match, having a chance.

“She hits the ball really fast, takes time away from you. I needed to move quicker and be behind the ball. That’s what I’m going to be focusing on. I’m looking forward to having many more matches against people like that.”