Brits Raducanu and Boulter set finals record

Emma Raducanu finally reached a first final since her 2021 US Open victory  with a  7-5 3-6 6-3  over Ukraine’s Oleksandra Oliynykova to reach the final of the Transylvania Open.

Raducanu was just 18 years old when her fairytale run took her from qualifier to champion in New York.

She had to dig deep for a gritty win in a match lasting almost three hours in Romania, where her father comes from.

The British No. 1’s efforts to build on that success have been disrupted by multiple injuries and coaching changes, and the 23 year old has struggled to find consistent form on the WTA Tour.

“I’m so proud of how I competed, how I came back in the third set and how I managed the match,” Raducanu said.

“I don’t think I could have done it without everyone’s support here so thank you so much.”

Raducanu’s father, Ion, is from Bucharest and the  player briefly addressed the crowd in Romanian after her victory.

Home favourite  Sorana Cirstea now stands between Raducanu and her first title  in five years.

Fellow Brit Katie Boulter also made a breakthrough at the Ostrava Open, beating American Katie Volynets to make her first final in over 15 months.

Boulter, will have the chance to win her first trophy on the WTA Tour since defending her Nottingham title in June 2024.

The British number four beat Volynets 6-1 6-3 to set up a meeting with Tamara Korpatsch in Saturday’s showpiece.

It is also Boulter’s first final since she split from her long-time coach Biljana Veselinovic  last year and appointed Michael Joyce at the start of 2026.

The 29-year-old said she wanted to gift Joyce – the former coach of five-time major winner Maria Sharapova – some silverware on his “birthday week”.

“It’s Mickey’s birthday week so I’m going to try and get him a birthday present tomorrow, which is the trophy,” Boulter said.

“I’m going to put everything on the line. We’re going to keep celebrating his birthday for the next month.”

If  she manages to win the title in the Czech Republic Boulter, will return to the top 100 having dropped to 120th in the world.

Raducanu and Boulter will be the first two British women to play Tour-level finals on the same day.

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