Emma Raducanu had already lost her spot as the British No 1 when Katie Boulter climbed above her by beating Victoria Golubic in the Surbiton Trophy on Friday; but Katie Swan misses her chance to take sit atop the rankings after losing the final to Yanina Wickmayer
Sunday 11 June 2023 20:35, UK
Yanina Wickmayer came out on top after a three-set battle with Katie Swan to win the Surbiton Trophy, preventing her opponent becoming the British No 1.
Wickmayer came back from a set down to win 2-6 6-4 7-6 three weeks before both players head to Wimbledon. Victory would have seen Swan leapfrog Katie Boulter and be ranked as the top British female tennis player. Boulter had disposed Emma Raducanu from the top of the rankings last week in Surbiton.
The pair were not deterred by the Surbiton heat as they battled at a high intensity with lengthy exchanges which resulted in Swan taking a 4-2 lead in the first set.
Swan's serve proved to be a decisive weapon early on as Wickmayer struggled to deal with the 24-year-old's precision which allowed her to be on the front foot in exchanges before she closed out the first set 6-2.
But Wickmayer began to find her feet in the second as she jostled into a 5-4 lead, with Swan finally beginning to falter.
The Belgian made no mistake in drawing level after she forced errors out of eighth seed Swan to close out the second set.
Wickmayer really began to show her class in the final set with some moments of excellence for which her opponent had no answers.
These came in the form of her returns, with her decision to choose placement over power proving to be a masterstroke as she firmed her grip on the tie late on.
Swan managed to take the deciding set to a tie-break but came up short after Wickmayer stormed into a 6-1 lead before rounding off the set to be crowned champion.
In a court-side interview broadcast by the LTA, Swan said: "I feel like it was a high-level match all the way through.
"It was tough because as soon as I dropped my levels slightly she was all over me and I had to maintain that for as long as I could. It was so tough but it was really high level overall.
"She is in unbelievable shape, I don't know how she can be that good after having a baby. I think it's incredible what she's doing."
Set to star at the Nottingham this week, it is the first time in Boulter's career that she has held the top spot in the British rankings. She becomes the 23rd woman to do so since rankings began in 1975.
"Naturally I am very proud to join the women before me who have reached that historic spot," said Boulter.
"However, my main goal remains on improving my ranking and continuing to work hard. It's going to be an exciting summer as we are all very close in the rankings."
