Archive June 12, 2025

Emma Raducanu swept aside Slovakia’s Rebecca Sramkova to reach the quarter-finals at Queen’s and will regain her place as British number one for the first time in two years.

The Briton was largely untroubled against world number 41 Sramkova, winning 6-4 6-1 on a packed Andy Murray Arena.

The 22-year-old smiled between points after overcoming a wobble in the first set where she lost four games in a row while trying to seal the opener.

Raducanu is the last Briton standing at the first women’s tournament at Queen’s since 1973 after compatriots Katie Boulter and Heather Watson exited in the last 16 earlier on Thursday.

Watson lost 6-4 6-2 to 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina, while Boulter fell 2-6 6-3 6-2 to Diana Shnaider and will now relinquish her title as British number one, which she has held since June 2023.

Raducanu, who will face Chinese top seed Zheng Qinwen next, only had to equal Boulter’s run at Queen’s to overtake her when the official rankings are updated on Monday.

She earned the position after winning the US Open in 2021 but slipped down the rankings after a period of inconsistent form and injury struggles in 2023, when Boulter replaced her.

This week, Raducanu has looked relaxed and largely in control, coming through both of her matches in straight sets and taking part in some doubles action alongside compatriot Boulter for the first time.

She has quickly made the west London tournament feel like home and that was no different on Thursday as she took in the adulation from the crowd.

A dream start for Raducanu left her serving for the set at 5-0 but what had looked like a stroll in the park quickly turned uncomfortable as she lost the next four games.

Serving for the set again at 5-4 she eventually shut out with a love hold to a huge ovation from the Queen’s crowd, and wearing a slightly sheepish grin as she walked to her chair.

The second set followed a similar pattern, with Raducanu dictating points and earning a triple break of serve.

This time she did not allow Sramkova back in, sealing victory in style and thanking the crowd for their “roar of support” in her on-court interview.

Raducanu has spoken this week about how she is feeling free to express herself on court and how this makes her more creative.

She has been boosted for the grass season by the return of her former coach Nick Cavaday to her team, to work alongside Mark Petchey, and has said she is feeling more settled as a result.

That seems to be shining through on the court, where she was also helped on occasion by some lucky net cords that left Sramkova shaking her head in frustration.

“I am really pleased to get through that,” Raducanu said. “I don’t think it was my cleanest performance but I am really pleased to push through in the tight moments. I really appreciate the support in that spell when she was coming back.

Boulter may have sat at the top of British women’s tennis for two years but, with Raducanu looking back to somewhere near her best, we could see the two battling for the top spot in British women’s tennis on a regular basis.

Boulter is looking forward to the challenge.

“It’s going to be fun for me to chase her now, and I think she’s been doing that for a while. Now it’s kind of my turn,” she said.

“I’m very happy for her to be British number one.”

Boulter, who won the title in Nottingham this time last year, had been trying to reach a seventh quarter-final on grass.

There were plenty of positives to take in a first set which she said featured “some of the best grass court tennis” she has played.

She continually caused problems behind her first serve – something she had suggested she would be working on in the build-up to this match after struggles earlier this week – and went a double break up on her way to taking the first set.

But by the time the umpire suspended play because of a downpour, Boulter was down a break at 4-1 in the second set and in trouble on serve again.

After a 20-minute rain delay, she returned to have her serve broken for a second time and, despite recovering one break, she could not prevent Shnaider from forcing a deciding set.

Boulter once again came under pressure in the opening game, wiping out three break points to secure the hold as problems on serve returned with a vengeance.

She saved more break points in her next service game, only to double-fault and concede the break.

From there, Boulter struggled to regroup and went down a double break.

Cricket World Cup League 2: Scotland v Netherlands, Forthill

Scotland 369-6: Munsey 191, Cross 59; Levitt 2-41

Netherlands 374-6: O’Dowd 158no, Nidamanuru 51; Sharif 3-62

Netherlands win by four wickets

George Munsey’s mammoth innings of 191 for Scotland – a record by a player from an associate nation – proved to be not enough as the Netherlands pulled off the highest chase in Cricket World Cup League 2 history.

Max O’Dowd struck 158 of his own in Dundee, including a six down the ground to clinch victory, as the visitors went past Scotland’s 369-6 with four wickets to spare in a dramatic final over.

The tally of 374-6 equalled the Dutch record score for a one-day international and was the highest chase ever by an associate nation.

Safyaan Sharif became Scotland’s all-time leading wicket-taker in ODIs as he took 3-62, but it was to be to no avail as the Dutch, sitting second in the table behind the United States, stretched their lead over their third-top hosts to four points.

He surpassed the previous best of 175 scored by Calum MacLeod in 2014 and now has more than 5,000 runs for Scotland in all formats.

The 32-year-old left-hander looked all set to carry his bat for a double century but was bowled by Vivian Kingma in the 49th over from the 150th ball he faced.

Matthew Cross, filling in for the ill Richie Berrington as captain, pitched in with 59 runs.

There was also a late cameo from Michael Leask, who hit three sixes on his way to an unbeaten 28 from 14 deliveries as Scotland finished on 369-6, their third highest ODI total.

Sharif took his 259th international wicket in all capped matches when he removed Dutch opener Michael Levitt for 44.

The 34-year-old, who made his ODI debut in 2011, then combined with Munsey to reduce the visitors to 75-2.

However, Teja Nidamanuru, with 51, and Noah Croes, with his own half-century, kept the scoreboard ticking until O’Dowd ensured victory with a thumping six with four balls to spare.

Rory McIlroy found Oakmont Country Club a bruising challenge as only five players from round one’s morning wave ended under par at the US Open.

Masters champion McIlroy had started well and was two under through nine holes, but then unravelled with four bogeys and a double bogey as he posted a four-over 74.

JJ Spaun, who McIlroy beat in a play-off to win The Players Championship in March, leads the way on four under. The American had four birdies in his opening eight holes and his is the only bogey-free round halfway through day one.

South Africa’s Thriston Lawrence is one behind Spaun after taking 67 shots on the notoriously difficult Pennsylvania course which is hosting a record-extending 10th US Open.

South Korea’s Kim Si-woo is at two under, while Belgium’s Thomas Detry, who was three under after nine, bogeyed his final hole to end on one under, alongside American Ben Griffin.

Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre said his level-par round of 70 was “in the top 10 that I’ve played”.

“That’s almost as good as I’ve got,” he told BBC Sport.

“I’ve never played a golf course as hard. Every shot is on a knife edge.”

Defending champion Bryson DeChambeau was “disappointed” with how he played despite conceding “it was a brutal test”. The American was level par after 11 holes, but a run of three bogeys in five saw him post a 73.

“This golf course can come up and get you pretty quick and it got me,” he added. “I’ve just got to get the putting a bit more dialled and I’ll be right there because three over could have easily been two under.”

His playing partner Xander Schauffele – the world number three – birdied the final two holes as he shot a 72.

Last time the US Open was held here in 2016, only four players broke par and in 2007, the winning score by Angel Cabrera was at five over.

While not quite that penal yet, this tournament does look like living up to its self-proclaimed billing as “the toughest test in golf”.

There were more than double the number of bogeys to birdies on the first morning and, with the course drying out, greens getting faster and the wind yet to bare its teeth, it promises to get harder.

World number two McIlroy has been in indifferent form since completing the career Grand Slam at Augusta National in April but serenely navigated the first half of his round.

He also struck the longest drive of his season, a mammoth 392 yards at the 12th (his third).

But Oakmont bit back on his second nine.

Driving the ball into the five-inch deep rough off the par-five fourth fairway, he needed three shots to escape and only a remarkable 30-foot putt limited the damage to a bogey.

Further shots went at his 15th and 16th holes before a first taste of the behemoth par-three eighth – playing at 276 yards – cost him a double bogey.

McIlroy has finished runner-up in the past two US Opens – in heartbreaking fashion last year after missing two short putts when leading in the closing stages – and has finished in the top 10 for six straight appearances.

Beyond threatening the biggest win of his career at TPC Sawgrass in the PGA Tour’s flagship tournament earlier this year, world number 25 Spaun has three other top-10 finishes so far this season.

Starting at the 10th tee, he particularly excelled on the greens, kicking off with a 20-footer for birdie and later making three clutch par putts from more than 10 feet to keep his card clean.

“I’m trying to feel like I have nothing to lose,” said Spaun, whose best finish at a major is joint 23rd at the 2022 Masters.

Jordan Smith, who came through qualifying at Walton Heath, Surrey in May, put together a solid round to be the leading English player from the morning wave, although bogeys on his final two holes saw him finish at two over par.

He is level with Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg who had a rocky finish with four bogeys in his closing five holes.

Tommy Fleetwood and Matt Fitzpatrick battled to four over, while fellow Englishman and 2013 champion Justin Rose closed with a double bogey in his 77.