Boulter loss means no Brits in singles third round

Katie Boulter lost in a deciding set to 28th seed Anastasia Potapova, ending British interest in the singles competitions at the French Open.

Francesca Jones also lost in the second round while Emma Raducanu, Cameron Norrie, Jacob Fearnley and Toby Samuel went out in round one.

Boulter, who was targeting a first appearance in round three at Roland Garros, came out on top of an untidy opening set which included seven breaks of serve.

However, whereas Potapova found her rhythm on serve, Boulter was broken twice more in each set as the Russian-born Austrian won 5-7 6-4 6-2.

Potapova will face defending champion Coco Gauff in round three as she bids to reach the second week of a major for only the second time in her career.

Boulter had reached the second round in uncertain fashion, being taken to three sets by teenage American wildcard Akasha Urhobo.

Her performance on Monday was characterised by poor serving and groundstroke errors, with the 29-year-old producing 35 unforced errors, including seven double faults, to 24 winners and having her serve broken five times.

At times, it was a frustratingly similar story against Potapova and unlike Grand Slam singles debutant Urhobo, the 25-year-old - enjoying a career-best clay-court swing which has seen her climb from outside the top 90 to 30th in the world - was able to capitalise.

Boulter held serve in the first game of the opening set before a run of six consecutive breaks of serve, and the Briton eventually closed out the set with her fourth break.

However, a resurgent Potapova broke twice in the opening five games of the second set, including Boulter conceding a break to love with a double fault, and although the British number three saved three set points as she fought back from 5-1 to 5-4, she could not avoid being taken to a decider.

Potapova, who was only broken once in the final two sets, converted both of her break points in the third to complete the win in clinical fashion.

Boulter has struggled on clay throughout her career, only winning her first WTA-Tour level match on the surface in 2025.

Despite winning just four clay-court matches across five tournaments this season, Boulter feels like she is making positive steps.

"I have to keep reminding myself that I got my first win on clay last year and I'm here now testing some of the better players on a clay court and that is important to me," Boulter told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"I'm taking the steps towards where I feel like I need to be on a clay court. It's taking time but I do think that today was one of the better matches I've played.

"I think I found my identity really well on the court and I just went after it. I started to commit to my shots and see where I was winning points and start gravitating towards that more."

Frustratingly, it was not her groundstrokes or being outfoxed by the conditions which cost her against Potapova, but her serve.

Boulter hit 10 double faults to just one ace, her first-serve percentage down at 54% and she only won 36% of points behind her second serve, while only 16 of her 51 unforced errors were groundstrokes.

"I've hit a couple of double faults in big moments but, at the same time, I think I'm also trying to improve my serve," she said in her main press conference.

"I'm not necessarily holding back, and I'm not just trying to push the ball in the court and run.

"I'm pleased with the way it's going towards my goals. It's a work in progress. It's going to be good days and bad days. I think I'm pretty level-headed about it."

Boulter has been struggling to shake off an illness in recent days and, moving forward, she said her "number one priority" is returning to full fitness for the upcoming grass-court tournaments.

While top seeds such as Jannik Sinner have tumbled in the men's draw, world number one Aryna Sabalenka and 2025 champion Gauff advanced with straight-set wins.

Sabalenka, pursuing her maiden French Open title, won five consecutive games as she took the first set and raced into a 3-0 lead in the second against France's Elsa Jacquemot.

Although she was broken while serving for the match, the 29-year-old immediately broke back to 15, converting her first match point to win 7-5 6-2 and set up a third-round tie with Daria Kasatkina.

Fourth seed Gauff only lost five games as she beat Mayar Sherif 6-3 6-2.

However, it was far from a routine win for the two-time Grand Slam singles champion, who was broken four times across the match but replied with seven breaks of her own.