Katie Boulter has continued her impressive tournament at the Japan Open after reaching the semi-finals.
Boulter began the 2026 season ranked outside the top 100, and was even as low as world number 120 in February.
Since then, Boulter has won her fourth WTA title in Ostrava and also reached another semi-final at the Queenās Club Championships after beating Elena Rybakina. This enabled Boulter to return to the top 60, but she has struggled for form since Queenās, having won just three of her 12 matches.
Boulter has rediscovered some form at the Japan Open in Osaka, and she has now reacted after beating Antonia Ruzic 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 to reach her first WTA Tour semi-final in four months.
Katie Boulter admits she got āa bit luckyā after reaching Japan Open semi-final
Boulter ended up winning the match against Ruzic, but she actually trailed the Croatian by a set and a break, and was a point away from going a double break down in the second set.
In her on-court interview after the match, Boulter admitted that she was āa little bit luckyā after praising the way Ruzic played.
āYeah, I mean sheās a really, really good player,ā said Boulter. āSheās extremely tough to beat. I think she came out extremely well. I did extremely well to come back into it in the second set, but she was swinging hard and I felt like anything that I was giving her kind of wasnāt bothering her.
āFull credit to her and I was kind of hanging tough to find a way, and actually in the end I started playing a little bit better so I think I was a bit lucky in the middle of the second set, but I stayed hard and I felt like I did well to stay there.ā
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Boulter was then asked about what it is like to play in Osaka, a tournament she made her debut at last year. The Briton revealed on court that the courts are quicker than most, something she is a fan of.
āIāve really liked playing here,ā stated Boulter. āI feel like Iām really familiar with the place and I always see it on the schedule, and I kind of get excited to come back here, thatās the feeling you want when you play a tournament.
āObviously I really like the courts here, I feel like the courts are getting slower and slower, and to actually have a little bit of a faster court is a blessing in disguise to me. I enjoy playing here a lot and I hope I can come back here many more times.ā
Boulter will now move on to the semi-finals of the Japan Open for the first time, where she will play against Katerina Siniakova. This will be a second meeting between the two players, with Boulter beating Siniakova at the Madrid Open last year, but she believes her next opponent is āextremely dangerousā.
āShe is one hell of a player,ā Boulter said of Siniakova. āFor me, sheās extremely dangerous. I know exactly what sheās going to bring to the table and I think itās going to be who gets the first strike in, and I think itās going to be a great match. Iāve got nothing to lose again, I think sheās been building really well this week, she played a great match today so Iām going to have to come prepared tomorrow.ā
Katie Boulter will become British No.1 again after the Japan Open
Boulter began this week as the world number 58, with Sonay Kartal becoming British number one for the first time on Monday after reaching the Wuhan Open final.
Following her run to the Japan Open semi-finals, Boulter has confirmed her return to the top 50 for the first time since last year.
| Top five British WTA players | Live ranking |
| 1. Katie Boulter | No.48 |
| 2. Sonay Kartal | No.51 |
| 3. Fran Jones | No.97 |
| 4. Emma Raducanu | No.104 |
| 5. Harriet Dart | No.115 |
This also means that Boulter will overtake Kartal to become British number one again, but there are still only 17 points between the two compatriots in the live rankings.
Boulter can continue rising up the ranks if she keeps winning at the Japan Open, with Siniakova awaiting her in the semi-finals, while Americans Ann Li and Ashlyn Krueger are in the other half of the draw.
