Is British women’s tennis in the doldrums or on the up?
The doom and gloom surrounding the complete absence of British players from the women’s singles draw at the French Open has given way to a raft of positive results on grass.
Katie Boulter defeated Jodie Burrage to win her first WTA title in Nottingham in the first all-British tour final since the 1970s while there have also been encouraging performances from Harriet Dart, Heather Watson and Katie Swan.
View this post on InstagramBoulter’s title has lifted her back into the top 100, which also doubles as the rough cut-off for entry into grand slams, but the 26-year-old believes a bigger-picture view is needed.
“I think we put a lot of emphasis on being ranked inside 100 and I’m not entirely sure if I personally agree with it,” she said.
“I think we need to continually look at the amount of players we have coming through and stay positive. Because, if we go down the negative route, we can always find something.
“Each and every one of these girls can be inside 100. I think we should be asking questions if we don’t have anyone who can be.
“These girls are getting wins against top-100 players but everyone’s individual and they have to work on what they need to do. I’ve got a lot of work to do inside or outside the top 100.”
It has been 40 years since Britain had anything approaching strength in depth, and the sport is far more global now than it was then.
While the men appear to be doing better – with four players in the top 100 and consistent performers in Andy Murray, Cameron Norrie and Dan Evans – there are actually six British women in the top 150 compared to five men.
And four of the top five women are aged 26 or under, whereas that is only the case for one man – 21-year-old Jack Draper, who will miss Wimbledon with the latest in a series of injuries.
The British women have mostly been rivals since their junior days and the hope, along with a strong return from injury for Emma Raducanu, must be that they can push each other up the rankings.
Boulter certainly sees it that way, saying: “It means everything for all of us. I think that’s why we’re such a good group of girls because we keep pushing each other on. I hope we can continually do that. I think there’s a lot more to come for all of us.”
Dart looked to have broken clear of her peers last year when she moved into the top 100 but this year had been a struggle prior to the grass season, with the 26-year-old plummeting down the rankings.
She has found form and confidence at home, reaching the quarter-finals in Nottingham – where tension at the net after she lost to Boulter took the headlines – and Birmingham.
Asked about the rivalry between the British women, Dart said: “We’re all on our different journeys. I’ve had a bit of a dip in form. Last year was a good year for me. I’m trying to regain that form.
“I don’t see myself in competition with anyone else, just myself. It definitely shows me that my level is there. I’ve just got to, week in, week out, keep putting it out there. The grass season is so short and the most important thing is the whole year.”
Dart is right not to focus too much on grass-court results because, while clay probably gives an overly negative impression of the state of the British game, the reverse is true for grass, which a lot of players from other countries are inexperienced and uncomfortable on.
The 26-year-old, meanwhile, revealed that she is still searching for a permanent coach after a trial with Frenchman Morgan Bourbon did not work out.
View this post on InstagramDart, who split from Nigel Sears last year, is working with Colin Beecher on the grass while his regular charge Kyle Edmund continues to recover from a wrist injury.
Edmund’s dreadful luck unfortunately shows no sign of improving, with the 28-year-old finally back on court after years of knee trouble only to suffer a separate problem just before the French Open.
Dart said: “I’ve been really fortunate that Colin has been able to have the time to do this grass-court season with me. It’s been really tough on Kyle with his injuries but I’m really grateful that he allowed him to come and work with me.
“I’m back to square one. For sure I’m looking for someone long term so I can get that consistency. It’s very challenging, to say the least.
“There’s not that many people out there, a lot of people are taken and are in long-term partnerships. But I’ll keep looking and you never know, sometimes post-Wimbledon people can become available.”
Sinner will only play Roland Garros if '100 per cent' fit
Jannik Sinner says that he is aiming to make a return for Roland-Garros if he is "100 per cent" fit following a hip issue.
The world number two withdrew from the Madrid Open last week ahead of his quarter-final tie with Felix Auger-Aliassime due to the injury.
Sinner confirmed on Saturday that he will not be playing in what would be a home tournament in Rome.
Providing an update on his progress on Sunday, Sinner said: "I went back to Monte-Carlo, we did some more tests, which made me take this hard decision because I have to skip the most special tournament of the year for me.
"I have to accept it even if it hurts me and many fans. We realised something is not totally good. If it is not 100 per cent healed, I'll stay out a little longer. Caring for the body is much more important than everything else.
"I’ll just try to get back to 100 per cent as soon as possible, hopefully trying to play in Paris and then Wimbledon and all the rest.
"We'll take our time, there's no rush and, hopefully, I can get back very, very soon."
Nadal and Djokovic on opposite sides of Italian Open draw
Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic could meet in the Italian Open final after being positioned on opposite sides of the draw.
Nadal, a record 10-time champion at the tournament, could meet reigning champion Daniil Medvedev in the quarter-finals should they both get that far, while newly crowned Madrid Open winner, Andrey Rublev, would be a potential semi-final opponent.
In the top half of the draw, Djokovic will take on either Roman Safiullin or a qualifier in his first competitive appearance since Monte Carlo.
The Serbian, who is just two wins away from his 1100th tour-level career victory, is seeded to face Casper Ruud in the quarter-finals. Alexander Zverev and Grigor Dimitrov are also on their side of the draw.
Meanwhile, top seed Iga Swiatek has been drawn in the opposite half of the draw to Elena Rybakina, the reigning Italian Open champion.
Swiatek is projected to face Coco Gauff in the semi-finals for the second consecutive WTA 1000 event should they both progress.
Rybakina is due to meet second seed Aryna Sabalenka at the same stage, having lost to the Belarusian at last week’s Madrid Open semi-finals.
'It can only get better' - Sabalenka leaving Madrid Open 'with positive thoughts' despite Swiatek defeat
Aryna Sabalenka is encouraged by her run to the Madrid Open final and feels her performance levels "can only get better", despite defeat by Iga Swiatek.
In a repeat of last year's showpiece, the world number two went down 7-5 4-6 7-6 (9-7) in a thrilling encounter with the Pole, who avenged her loss from 12 months ago.
Sabalenka, who saw three championship points go begging, narrowly missed out on becoming only the second woman to win three titles in Madrid after Petra Kvitova.
Nevertheless, the reigning Australian Open champion reached her first final since triumphing in Melbourne, while extending her winning streak in the Spanish capital to 11 matches before defeat to the world number one.
"I really want to see many more finals against [Swiatek]. I want to see more wins than losses," she said. "But I really hope that we'll be able to keep the level or increase the level every year.
"I'm happy with the level I played, with the effort I put into this match and into this week. I'm leaving Madrid with positive thoughts.
"Probably when I broke [Swiatek] in the third set, I should have been more focused on my serve. But at the same time, it's not like I double-faulted; she played great tennis, and she broke me back.
"I think after the Australian Open, I struggled for a couple of months. It's been intense. I'm super happy that, here in Madrid, I was able to bring it all together and be able to get back to my level. It can only get better from now on."
Swiatek was not to be denied a third title of the season - a tally only matched by Elena Rybakina - and she has now won each of her last seven WTA Tour-level finals since losing out to Sabalenka in Madrid last year.
The three-time French Open champion has also now triumphed in every European clay court tournament at WTA 500 level or higher.
"When I look back in maybe a few years, it will mean a lot," the Pole said. "But for now, I'm just happy that I won this tournament anyway. It doesn't matter to me if I won it before or not. I try to win each tournament that I play.
"I think it was more about who was going to be less stressed and who was going to be able to play with more freedom.
"For most of the match, I felt like some decisions [from her] were pretty courageous. I was sometimes a little bit back. So, in the end, I just wanted not to do that and to also be courageous.
"I don't know what made a difference. I think we both deserved to win; I think it was only about those little points in the tiebreaker."
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