GB's Boulter scrapes into French Open second round

Monday's victory was only Katie Boulter's second match win at Roland Garros

• Published25 May 2026, 20:22 BST

Great Britain's Katie Boulter avoided an early slip-up at the French Open as she ground out a gruelling first-round win over American wildcard Akasha Urhobo.

Playing on clay has never come easy for Boulter, who only won her first WTA Tour-level match on the surface last year - at the age of 28.

But she booked her place in the second round at Roland Garros for just the second time with a scrappy 6-4 4-6 6-4 win over 19-year-old Urhobo, who was making her debut in the main draw of a Grand Slam.

Boulter's reward is a second-round encounter with Austrian 28th seed Anastasia Potapova.

Earlier on Monday, Boulter's Australian fiance Alex de Minaur ended Toby Samuel's breakthrough run after the Briton came through three rounds of qualifying in Paris.

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Ranked 114 places higher than Urhobo, Boulter was the favourite on paper - but limited exposure to clay has sometimes meant she has struggled against lower-ranked opposition on the surface.

However, Boulter told BBC Sport earlier this month that she was embracing the challenge of playing on the red dirt more each year.

"There have been times in the past where I feel like I have had to try to convince myself that I like the clay, whereas at the moment I genuinely believe that I can play great on it," she said.

The 29-year-old endured a difficult 2025, dropping from 24th in the world to outside the top 100, and she lost her British number one ranking amid injury issues.

Searching for a fresh start, she split from her long-time coach Biljana Veselinovic and appointed Michael Joyce - the former coach of Maria Sharapova - in early 2026.

After a first-round exit in January's Australian Open, Boulter returned to the world's top 100 with a WTA 250 title in Ostrava and a run to the third round in Miami.

But her form remained inconsistent and she had won just three WTA Tour-level singles matches from four clay tournaments in the build-up to the Paris major.

Unforced errors flew freely from both players' racquets and the pair twice traded breaks in the opening set before Boulter served it out at the second time of asking.

Back-to-back double faults from Boulter put Urhobo on the front foot early in the second, and although Boulter levelled the scores mid-set, the Florida-born player restored her advantage immediately and forced the decider.

Both players raised their level in the third and the quality improved somewhat as Boulter stamped her authority on the contest with a break in the fourth game.

Once again, the Briton failed to serve out the set and she eventually grabbed the win - after two hours and 10 minutes - by breaking Urhobo's serve for a sixth time.

Ultimately, 58 unforced errors to Boulter's 35 proved too costly for rising star Urhobo, who broke into the top 200 for the first time earlier this year.

'More than I ever wanted' - Samuel's dream run comes to an end

Samuel, 23, dropped to almost 2,000 in the world rankings after missing much of the 2024 season with bruising in his right arm.

But he has climbed more places than anyone else on the men's tour over the past year, rising to 159th amid a run of titles on the ATP Challenger Tour - the second tier of men's professional tennis.

Contesting the biggest match of his career on Monday, Samuel produced an encouraging display despite a 6-4 6-4 6-2 against seven-time major quarter-finalist De Minaur - the first top-100 player he has ever faced.

"The week has been more than I could ever hope for," Samuel told BBC Sport. "To be in the main draw is more than I could have ever wanted."

On now aiming for a wildcard to play at Wimbledon, he added: "I'm just taking it one week at a time, trying to do my best and put myself in the best position to get a wildcard."

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  • Published16 August 2025