Katie Boulter: Emma Raducanu is back where she belongs

Katie Boulter believes Emma Raducanu is back “where she belongs” after Great Britain secured their place in the Billie Jean King Cup quarter-finals with a 2-0 win over Germany.

Raducanu beat the hard-serving Jule Niemeier 6-4, 6-4, with Boulter easing through her own match 6-1, 6-2, to set up a meeting with last year’s winners Canada.

Having turned 22 on the eve of the tournament, Raducanu produced an encouraging performance in her first match for almost two months following her latest injury setback, a foot ligament issue.

Boulter, Great Britain’s number one and world number 25, praised the performance of her teammate: “She did incredibly well.

“Obviously she hasn’t played that many matches, so to see that level out there again, just doing really well, it’s really nice to see.

“It’s where she belongs. I’m sure she’s going to be winning a lot of matches like these.”

Raducanu’s last match on court was September 21, when she was forced to retire in the Korea Open quarter-final, and a month ago her foot was in a protective boot. On court, she showcased one of the aspects of her game that she had been working on during her time away from competition.

In the first set, Raducanu served seven aces, including four in a single game, and 10 in the match overall, and that set her apart from Niemeier. The Briton won 76 per cent of points on her first serve which she has tinkered with since the start of the grass-court season.

Under the guidance of Nick Cavaday, Raducanu has developed a more compact motion, almost an abbreviation of the technique utilised to great effect by world-beating server Andy Roddick.

“I have been working on it,” Raducanu admitted following her win at the Palacio de Deportes.

“Training for next year, I do want to work on my serve and make that a bit more of a weapon.”

Although Raducanu acknowledged her serve was not the finished article: “It does come with a bit of a tradeoff, I think especially in the early stages when I’m figuring it out still.

“I have to take the double faults with the aces.”

Great Britain will face defending champions Canada

Canada have not yet confirmed their team, which will be done an hour before the match is expected to start at 4pm GMT on Sunday, but Raducanu is likely to face either Rebecca Marino or Marina Stakusic, who are ranked No 103 and 127 in the world respectively.

As the two highest ranked singles players Boulter is expected to face Canada’s Leylah Fernandez, who Raducanu beat to claim the US Open title in 2021.

Boulter said she was “very excited” about the prospect of the match up, adding: “[She’s a] great player. Someone that I have a huge amount of respect for.

“She’s the first person on the courts in the morning when you come to the site and the last person there, and she works extremely hard.

“I do have a lot of respect for her. We all know what she’s capable of. It will be an absolute battle, but I’m looking forward to it.”

Canada have not yet played at the Billie Jean King Cup finals, having received a bye through to the quarter-finals as a result of having won the competition in 2023, but Great Britain are not underestimating the challenge.

Team captain Anne Keothavong said; “What they achieved last year was remarkable, it really was.

“We’re not underestimating them by any means. They can be incredibly touch. They have a fantastic team spirit but so do we. They are hungry to defend their title, but we are hungry to win.”