Katie Boulter has suffered a surprise defeat in the first round of the Canadian Open.
Boulter was ranked as low as world number 120 back in February, but had rediscovered her form to make her way back up the rankings.
This included Boulter winning her fourth WTA title in Ostrava and beating world number two Elena Rybakina at the Queen’s Club.
However, after losing to world number 172 Kayla Cross in Toronto, something has happened to Boulter for the first time in her career.
Katie Boulter is now on a five-match losing streak
Boulter’s aforementioned win over Rybakina was actually the last time she won a match, with the Briton now on a five-match losing streak.
This is the first time that this has happened in Boulter’s professional career, which was confirmed after her 7-6(3), 7-5 defeat to Cross.
Boulter actually had four set points in the first set against Cross, but she was unable to capitalise on this and was instead beaten in straight sets.
Included in this recent run of poor form for Boulter is a first round defeat at Wimbledon against Tyra Caterina Grant.
Boulter’s defeat to Cross means that all three of her last losses have come against either wildcards or qualifiers.
This is discouraging for Boulter, who would have been hoping to keep improving her current ranking of world number 72, with relatively few points to defend until 2027.
| Tournament | Katie Boulter’s result |
| Queen’s Club Championships (SF) | Donna Vekic beat Boulter, 6-1 6-3 |
| Bad Homburg Open (1R) | Leylah Fernandez beat Boulter, 6(5)-7 6-3 6-3 |
| Wimbledon (1R) | Tyra Caterina Grant beat Boulter, 6-4 6-2 |
| Washington Open (1R) | Ashlyn Krueger beat Boulter, 3-6 6-2 6-2 |
| Canadian Open (1R) | Kayla Cross beat Boulter, 7-6(3) 7-5 |
What is next for Katie Boulter?
Boulter will look to put an end to this losing streak at the Cincinnati Open, which is the next tournament on her schedule.
However, past results at the WTA 1000 tournament suggest this may be difficult, with Boulter having never won a match in her two previous appearances at the Cincinnati Open.
Despite her poor recent form, Boulter actually still has an opportunity to become the British number one in the near future.
Emma Raducanu is the current British number one, but is out of action due to a stress fracture in her lower right leg, which has already forced her to withdraw from the US Open.
There are currently 118 ranking points between Raducanu and Boulter, with that gap set to lessen during the US Open swing.
How concerned are you about Emma Raducanu’s latest injury setback?
Raducanu confirmed a stress fracture in her lower right leg…
With Raducanu already confirmed to miss all tournaments up to and including the US Open, she will definitely drop the 260 points she earned during this portion of the season in 2025.
This is in comparison to the just 60 points Boulter has to defend during the US Open swing, meaning she will overtake Raducanu during this period and very likely become British number one again.
