Boulter

Cameron Norrie progressed to the second round of the Paris Masters with victory over Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi.

The British number two notched a 6-4 1-6 6-3 against Arnaldi, who is ranked nine places above him in 36th, in one hour and 41 minutes to secure his first ATP Tour win since August.

“I’m just trying to enjoy my tennis. It’s been a difficult year for me and I don’t really care any more – I just want to play, and play to win,” Norrie told Sky Sports.

“I put a lot of expectation on myself to go and win, especially being a favourite [at times]. I was getting stuck a lot and I definitely want to try to change that.

“I really just want to play every point, enjoy every point, use my skills and give myself permission to let go and play to win. Be a bit more grateful to play.”

Norrie, 31, was already a break up against Arnaldi when he lost his serve in the fourth game of the opening set.

However, the Briton immediately broke back before he served out to win it 6-4 in 36 minutes.

Arnaldi broke Norrie three times in the second set to level the match, but the Briton regrouped in the decider and, after securing a break to go 3-1 up, was able to hold his nerve to close out the match.

The immense pride which Kartal felt about becoming the British number one came shining through, describing it as being “up there” in her career achievements.

While she will only initially hold the status for a week, Kartal’s impressive comeback and Boulter’s decent run creates a fascinating subplot for the leading British women in the final throes of the season – and the start of 2027.

Boulter will have the chance to further improve her ranking when she plays in Tokyo and Hong Kong in the coming weeks, with Kartal’s plans for the rest of the season still uncertain as she sensibly manages her workload.

And don’t forget about Emma Raducanu. It seems increasingly unlikely she will play again this season because of the shin injury which ruled her out of Wimbledon, but is clearly too good a player not to be pushing back into the top 50 when she does return.

When all three are back competing on the WTA Tour at the same time, it promises to be an interesting tussle between them in the rankings.

Boulter and Raducanu both insisted they were not transfixed by the British number one spot when they exchanged positions in 2025, instead preferring to focus on their own career paths and the bigger picture of the world rankings.

But there is no doubt that Boulter, in particular, could see the opportunity to cement her place as the nation’s best player as an extra incentive to continue finishing 2026 strongly.

Katie Boulter moved into the quarter-finals of the Japan Open after she beat Viktorija Golubic in less than an hour.

The British number two defeated her Swiss opponent 6-2 6-1 in Osaka and will face either Croatia’s Antonia Ruzic or American Kayla Day in the next round.

Boulter saved a break point in the opening game but dominated from 2-2 in the first set, winning nine games in a row before Golubic took the penultimate game of the match.

The 30-year-old lost the British number one spot to Sonny Kartal on Monday, but is set to retake the position following her run this week.

Boulter, who is seeded eighth in the competition, said she was pleased with how she handled “difficult conditions”, with a strong wind affecting play.

“I think one of the biggest things for me is staying patient in the wind,” she said.

“Sometimes I can get a little frustrated, and I’m very pleased that I didn’t allow that to affect me today and I think I ended up playing some really good tennis in the second set. I’m really pleased with the performance.”