- Emma Raducanu lost to Katie Boulter in the semi-finals of the Nottingham Open
- Boulter won the event and boyfriend Alex de Minaur also won a title on Sunday
- Raducanu will play at Wimbledon this year after missing the tournament in 2023
Former British No 1 Emma Raducanu has said that she is starting to ‘feel the fire again’ after her run to the semi-finals at the Nottingham Open last week.
The 21-year-old took the first set against fellow Brit Katie Boulter by winning an epic tie-break 15-13 on Saturday night.
Rain then halted the match before Boulter turned it around to win 6-7 6-3 6-4 on Sunday.
Hours later, Boulter beat former world No 1 Karolina Pliskova 4-6 6-3 6-2 in the final to retain the title she won in 2023.
Raducanu reflected on her Nottingham campaign in an Instagram post on Monday morning.
Emma Raducanu, 21, reached the semi-finals of the Nottingham Open on grass last week
Former British No 1 Raducanu is now looking forward to Wimbledon, which will begin on July 1
Katie Boulter beat Raducanu in Nottingham before going on to win the whole tournament
Alongside a photo of herself and Boulter shaking hands at the net, Raducanu wrote: ‘Tried my best with what I had on the day.
‘Despite the result I enjoyed the battle and feel the fire again.
‘Congrats @katiecboulter for defending your title at home, 5 sets and completing the double with Alex.’
The latter part of Raducanu’s message was about Boulter’s boyfriend Alex de Minaur, who won the Rosmalen Grass Court Championships in the Netherlands on Sunday.
Boulter and De Minaur have been dating since March 2022 and they played mixed doubles together at Wimbledon last year.
Raducanu congratulated Boulter on her victory via an Instagram post on Monday morning
Boulter’s boyfriend is Australian Alex de Minaur and they have played mixed doubles together
De Minaur beat Sebastien Korda (right) at the Rosmalen Grass Court Championships last week
After winning the US Open in 2021, Raducanu has not progress beyond round two at any Grand Slam.
Her progress has been thwarted in no small part by injury issues.
Raducanu underwent surgery on her ankle and both wrists last year, before missing Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open.
She also skipped the French Open this year but is now looking forward to playing at Wimbledon next month.
However, she will not complete in the Paris Olympics this summer after turning down an invitation from Team GB.
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