Week 45 - ITF ($100K) - Shenzhen, China, Hard Outdoor

Michael D · All-time great

Week 45 - ITF ($100K) - Shenzhen, China, Hard Outdoor

Michael D · All-time great

Katy D and Laura are also playing together in the doubles.

indiana · Tennis legend

Doesn't look as if Katie B really 'does' doubles these days. Apart from during the grass season she otherwise has this year only played doubles in a couple of tournaments in March.

Not exactly been doing her any harm

Mervatron2 · Challenger qualifying

Good to see Katie's injury wasn't too bad then.

Good luck to all three.

steven · Tennis legend

Laura is a set and a break up

- her opponent has only won 1 of her last 15 matches (mostly below this level), dating back to just before she reached her career high, so it would have been more of a shock if Laura wasn't well ahead. 6-4 3-1*

Babfive · Satellite level

Laura wins 6-4 6-1

Katie is 1-4

Babfive · Satellite level

Katie lost the first set 2-6

paulisi · Tennis legend

Katie lost in straight sets

blob · All-time great

24th event, and 63rd match of 2017 for Ms. Boulter.
Surely time to call an end to a very good season and prepare for an assault on higher peaks next year.

Laura & Katy have played similar number of events, but, with less success, obviously fewer matches, and still have plenty to play for
Laura: 25 events, 47 matches
Katy: 22 events, 41 matches

Michael D · All-time great

Yes, I think time for Katie B to end her season now. I'm not sure she is fully fit, and she needs to recover and regroup ready for next year,

indiana · Tennis legend

Then again as far as I know Katie B may well be fully fit. I have no idea why she retired from her recent final vs Katie Swan and maybe today she just didn't play at her best against a player who has a decent ranking from last year.

Maybe she felt well up for this trip so fair enough ( I'd agree dubious to take on all things considered if she wasn't fully fit ) and she is down to play next week in Japan. But certainly after that it seems fair to be ready to bring the curtain down on a very progressive season.

Jaffa · Challenger level

I very much doubt she'd go half way across the world unless she was confident she was fit.

vohor · Grand Slam Champion

Good work from Laura :D
Hopefully Katie can have a better week in Japan; her R1 opponent's CH suggests maybe this was always going to be a potential banana skin for Katie :(

Michael D · All-time great

Jaffa wrote:
I very much doubt she'd go half way across the world unless she was confident she was fit.

I think it is often more nuanced than this. I recall Lindsay Davenport saying once on commentary (I think it was her), that you almost never play a match without having some ache or niggle. It is often a matter of degrees, whether you think something is serious enough to be inhibiting, and just when an injury needs fuller rest to recover from. So yes, Katie B might have been fully fit and without any niggles when she made her trip to China. Do I think that was the case - no. But yes, sure, Katie must obviously have felt confident of managing whatever aches/ pains she might have now or she would not have travelled, but I still doubt she is fully fit at the moment.

indiana · Tennis legend

Well if taking to that degree ( and there is no doubt truth in what Lindsay Davenport says ) players are rarely ever "fully fit". The very fact of your comment, Michael, of being not sure she was fully fit I took to be that you thought she might be rather less than 'normally' fit with a distinct issue or two, or why mention it at all and in connection to maybe ending her season to 'recover' as well as prepare for next season ( albeit yes number of cumulative matches played could also be argued for curtailing until next season ).

As has been said, it would indeed be strange to travel out to China and Japan for these tournaments if so below par. So the fact that she has more suggests otherwise, especially as she is hardly in desperate need of wins or form.

But in truth we just don't know. All we know is that she lost a tennis match to a player ranked higher than she is now just last year and she retired for some reason in her final against Katie S more than a week ago at 5-0 down in the opening set.