Raducanu Battles into Queen's Semi-Finals Despite Injury
Emma Raducanu overcame an injury scare to advance to the Queen's Club semi-finals, while Katie Boulter's pursuit of the title ended with a straight-sets defeat to Donna Vekic.
British number one Raducanu left the court for medical treatment during the second set of her quarter-final match but ultimately defeated Kamilla Rakhimova 6-3, 7-5.
The match experienced an unusual interruption in the first set due to the noise from a series of military aircraft flying overhead as part of the King's Trooping the Colour flypast in central London.
Raducanu has now matched her best WTA Tour-level grass-court result, equaling the semi-final she reached at Nottingham in 2024, as well as her career-best performance at a WTA 500 event, having reached the semi-finals at Washington in 2025.
The 23-year-old is scheduled to return later on Saturday to face American teenager Iva Jovic at 17:20 BST, competing for a place in Sunday's final of the weather-affected championships.
Raducanu has yet to drop a set in the tournament but now faces the challenge of potentially playing two matches in one day to maintain her strong form this week.
"It was really tricky, she played some incredible tennis and got a lot of balls back," Raducanu told BBC TV after overcoming Rakhimova.
"It was an up-and-down match and I'm really grateful for the support I had in some tough moments.
"It was tough to take the fall, I was in a good spot in the match and I found it tough to regroup, but I am proud how I did that with the help of you guys here."
Boulter secured two victories on Friday, including an impressive win over world number two Elena Rybakina in her quarter-final.
However, the 29-year-old appeared to feel the effects of her previous day's exertions and struggled from the outset of her semi-final, ultimately losing 6-1, 6-3 in 66 minutes.
Red Arrows Flypast Interrupts Play
Raducanu recorded her first victory against a top-20 opponent in over a year by defeating Romanian world number 18 Sorana Cirstea on Friday but was unable to start her quarter-final match immediately.
After dropping serve in the third game against Rakhimova, Raducanu regained control following an unusual interruption.
While attempting to serve out the first set at 40-0, Raducanu was forced to delay her serve multiple times due to the noise from the aircraft overhead.
Once the Red Arrows had passed over the west London club, Raducanu completed the service game and dominated the remainder of the first set.
"It was insane," Raducanu told the BBC. "I couldn't play with that. I was distracted and in awe of what was going on, and I think the crowd loved it too."
Raducanu had her left thigh strapped after slipping on the grass while changing direction in the fifth game of the second set.
Returning to the Andy Murray Arena after treatment, Raducanu lost her serve as she struggled to regain the momentum she had prior to the fall.
With encouragement from her coaching team, the 2021 US Open champion had to dig deep as her opponent sought to capitalize on the situation.
Having removed the strapping, Raducanu regained her form to break Rakhimova's serve and lead 5-4 but was unable to close out the match on her own serve.
She broke the Russian-born Uzbek player again and finally secured her place in the semi-finals on her third match point.
