Emma Raducanu and Katie Boulter to form doubles dream team at Queen’s

Katie Boulter and Emma Raducanu are to play doubles together for the first time in a British dream team at Queen’s this week.

British No 1 Boulter has confirmed that the pair plan to team up as women return to Queen’s for the first time in more than 50 years.

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They will join forces alongside their commitments in the singles draw in order to maximise court time, as the grass season gets under way at the prestigious West Kensington club.

“I think myself and Emma, we’ve been wanting to play for a while now,” Boulter said on Sunday. “I think we’ve talked about it a lot of times, and unfortunately, it just hasn’t quite happened for various reasons. I think [for the] first week on grass, to get a couple more matches is super important.

“I think we were actually here at Queen’s, practising on the clay, and we decided we thought we’d come back and play on the grass together.

“It’ll be extremely special. Obviously, she’s a great player, and I’m looking forward to having the first of many more.”

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Boulter, 28, and Raducanu, 22, have been neck-and-neck for the British No 1 spot this year, with the former set to move to a world ranking of No 34 on Monday and the latter just three spots behind her at No 37.

Their campaigns at Queen’s therefore will be hugely influential in their attempts to secure a ranked seeding for Wimbledon next month, which will go to the top 32 seeds.

Raducanu faces a tough ask at Queen’s though, having been drawn in the same half as top seed Zheng Qinwen, the reigning Olympic champion and world No 7. Should she progress from an opening round tie against a qualifier, Raducanu will come up against Barbora Krejcikova, last year’s Wimbledon champion.

Boulter will also face a qualifier in the first round with a potential meeting in the second round against fifth seed Diana Shnaider.

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The pair will then team up in the doubles to take on the Chinese duo of Wu Fang-Hsien and Jiang Xinyu, with a potential meeting with fellow British team Jodie Burrage and Sonay Kartal on the cards.

Cavaday returns to Raducanu camp

Raducanu also confirmed the latest development in her ongoing coaching saga with the return of Nick Cavaday, the man who decided to step away from the role earlier this year in order to prioritise his own health.

Cavaday oversaw Raducanu’s training session on Sunday at Queen’s and the 2021 US Open champion confirmed that he will team up with her current coach, Mark Petchey, having filled in this week while the latter remains in Paris on television commentary duty.

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“I’m happy to see him healthy, first of all,” said Raducanu, who split from Cavaday in January to leave her looking for a seventh full-time coach in three-and-a-half years as a professional.

“I mean, it’s been such a long time since we were last on court together in Australia, and Mark is in Paris commentating, so Nick was around and it was nice to just have a few days with him.”

Raducanu and Nick Cavaday during practice at Queen’s on Sunday (above and below) – PA/John Walton

Emma Raducanu and Nick Cavaday at practice at Queen’s Club ahead of the HSBC Championships on Sunday June 8, 2025.

Raducanu confirmed that the appointment of both Cavaday and Petchey will continue through to the end of Wimbledon next month. “They’ll both be helping me throughout the grass,” she added.

“I think having Mark and Nick… both people who have banks of experience and I think they can complement each other really well and I trust both of them a lot. So that is a big fundamental for me. So, yeah, I’m looking forward to this upcoming season and see how it goes.”

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Other British players to have secured wildcards are Kartal, Burrage and Francesca Jones, who will all feature in the first women’s championship at Queen’s Club since 1973.

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