When Olga Morozova won the Queen’s Club title back in 1973, she probably didn’t imagine she’d hold onto it for over 50 years. But as the tournament finally returns with a women’s event in 2025, her reign has officially come to an end. A new trophy will now be handed to the winner—one that carries the names of past champions, since the original has long gone missing. This year’s edition was supposed to be a fresh start for women’s tennis at Queen’s. But hopes for a British winner have been fading fast as Katie Boulter bows out of the tournament.

Katie Boulter, the British No.1, exited the round of 16. She lost to fifth seed Diana Shnaider in a three-set battle: 2-6, 6-3, 6-2. The match was played on a sunny but rain-affected kind of day, thanks to the unpredictable west London weather. Despite a spirited second set, Boulter couldn’t hang on.

After the match, Diana Shnaider won over the crowd with a charming apology. “Yeah, you know, I definitely want to first apologise to the crowd!” the Russian said with a laugh. “I mean, Katie is such a lovely person. I love her with all my heart, to play her and beat her in front of a home crowd, I feel so sorry! I hope you’re not going to hate me too much and come support me tomorrow.”

Katie Boulter fell short in her attempt to reach a fifth WTA 500 quarterfinal, as Shnaider advanced to face American second seed and Australian Open champion Madison Keys. Meanwhile, fellow Brit Heather Watson also exited early, falling to 2022 Wimbledon champ Elena Rybakina 6-4, 6-2. That leaves Emma Raducanu as the last British woman standing, as she won her round-of-16 clash against Rebecca Šramková.

Boulter also took to the doubles court this week, teaming up with Raducanu. The duo were knocked out by top seeds Erin Routliffe and Lyudmyla Kichenok. While it was a fun experiment, don’t expect a reunion at Wimbledon just yet.

“I had a great time playing with Emma this week,” Boulter said. “I’m sure we will do it at some point. I’m not sure when, but at some point I’m sure we will. I don’t know about that one. Maybe we’ll find out a little later if we do that or not. It’s not in the plans at the moment.”

And with her singles exit, Boulter now passes the torch. She has held the British No.1 position since June 2023, but Raducanu will officially leapfrog her in next week’s rankings.

Katie Boulter talks about the “funny” thing about losing her British No.1 ranking

The change comes down to timing. Katie Boulter lost the 250 ranking points she earned for winning Nottingham last year, thanks to a shift in the WTA’s calendar. It’s not that she lost early in Nottingham; the points simply expired this week.

“Tennis is a funny one,” the three-time WTA title winner said. “You know, some people lose 250 points one week, some people lose zero, some people lose 100. It’s something that happens every single week.”

She added, “I’m very well aware that I lost 250 this week, because Nottingham was next week and the scheduling’s been different. Of course, I personally want to be getting my ranking moving in the right direction. I’m very happy for her to be British No. 1. But at the same time, it’s going to be fun for me to chase her now, and I think she’s been doing that for a while. Now it’s kind of my turn.”

Still, all eyes turn to Nottingham once again. Boulter won the title there in both 2023 and 2024. With her points already gone, there’s no pressure, just a clean slate and another shot to climb back.

She’ll return to a place where she knows how to win. And this time, she’s chasing. Boulter’s week at Queen’s ended early, but her race with Raducanu has only just begun. Who do you think will hold the top British spot when Wimbledon ends?