Emma Raducanu beats Sorana Cirstea to reach quarter-finals of Queen's as Katie Boulter stuns world No. 2 Elena Rybakina - 'It feels incredible'
Updated 12/06/2026 at 21:10 GMT+1
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British No. 1 Emma Raducanu said it felt "incredible" after she beat seventh seed Sorana Cirstea to reach the quarter-finals at Queen's.
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Raducanu was always in charge of the match in west London on Friday, and she brought the crowd to their feet with a fine 6-4 6-2 victory.
The first set saw Raducanu race into a 4-0 lead, only for Cirstea to claw her way back to trail 5-4.
But the British No.1 held her nerve to see off a break point and claim the first set 6-4.Â
The sun came out for the second set, and that coincided with Raducanu raising her level. She used all her power in sealing a straight-sets win to advance at the WTA 500 event.
"It feels incredible to have come out and played how I did today against Sorana," said Raducanu, who will play Kamilla Rakhimova on Saturday for a place in the semi-finals.
"She's been a player who this year has been in incredible form, had some amazing wins, reached a really high ranking, and earlier on in the year she beat me, but I'm really glad that I could kind of get her back at home as well.
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"I think I played to a really high level. I knew that I had to playing Sorana. I had to go out there and play aggressively and dictate, because otherwise, if I didn't, then she would do that.
"And as soon as I kind of took my foot off the gas a little bit, or didn't execute in the first set, she was coming back.
"But I think straight from the get-go, I actually put a really good game on the court, and just really pleased that I’m able to play another match here today, so hopefully you guys can stick around."
"It means so much for everyone to have stuck around yesterday. For the whole crowd to be doing that, it's a real privilege, and I really wanted to show some good tennis to make up for yesterday's rain delay."
It was hoped at one stage that Raducanu could return for her next match on Friday evening, but there wasn't enough time in the end and her quarter-final will take place on Saturday.
Elsewhere, Britain’s Katie Boulter secured her place in the Queen’s quarter-finals with a 6-1 6-3 victory over world No. 38 Jaqueline Cristian.
And later on Friday, Boulter claimed a brilliant 7-5 2-6 6-4 victory to reach the semi-finals.
British No. 5 Harriet Dart was knocked out, as Rakhimova came from behind for a 5-7 6-1 7-5 victory.
The world's top women are making their grass court preparations ahead of one of the biggest tournaments in the world, Wimbledon, which begins on June 29.
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