By Mauricio Alencar
Katie Boulter picked up her first ever WTA 500 title as she beat Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk in the San Diego Open final.
The British tennis player is now 27th in the WTA rankings after her comeback win 5-7 6-2 6-2 against Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk.
Her new WTA ranking is a career high.
Boulter’s dominant second and third sets came after she had come back from 5-2 to 5-5 in the first set.
She expressed her surprise at winning the tournament.
“This week has been very, very special for so many different reasons. This one is pretty amazing, I’ve worked very hard for it, I played some incredible tennis all week.
“Today was a complete battle, with myself as well, because I was a little bit nervous. But I managed to get over the line, and that I’m very proud of.”
This her second big title win after beating British tennis player Jodie Burrage to win the Nottingham Open last June.
Boulter had to beat the likes of Beatriz Haddad Maia, who is ranked 13th, and American player Emma Navarro on the way to the final.
The 27-year-old also gave a special mention to her boyfriend, Alex de Minaur, the Australian player who is ninth in the ATP rankings.
De Minaur won the Mexican Open the day before and travelled north to see Boulter win.
“He finished last night at midnight and I really want to embarrass him. He got on a 4.15 taxi this morning and six o’clock flight to be here today, so I do appreciate it.”
She is expected to play at Roland Garros in Paris in two months. She will hope to get past the third round, which is her record at Grand Slams.
