Sunday, June 29

Sports Mole previews Monday’s Wimbledon first-round match between Paula Badosa and Katie Boulter, including predictions, form and their head-to-head record.

Former British No. 1 Katie Boulter seeks a rare win over a top-10 opponent on Monday, when she takes on Paula Badosa in the first round of Wimbledon.    

The Spaniard, who has avoided a tournament-opening loss at SW19 in her last four appearances, strives to extend that run against the Briton, who aims to reach the second round for the sixth consecutive time.

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Match preview

While Badosa ideally enters Monday’s round-one contest with Boulter as the favourite, the Spanish No. 1’s recent injury misfortune in Berlin suggests the encounter may not be as straightforward.

The four-time WTA champion had seemingly responded to a third-round French Open exit to Daria Kasatkina by beating Eva Lys and Emma Navarro in straight sets in Berlin to start the short grass season positively.

However, Badosa lasted just 24 minutes in the quarter-final against Wang Xiyu before withdrawing due to injury, a situation which undeniably frustrated the former world No. 2.

Thus, the 27-year-old's injury scare in the German capital means she enters the third Grand Slam of the year far from 100%, potentially hampering her prospects in Monday's first-round encounter.

While the world No. 9, who holds a 17-10 record for the season and is 10-5 overall at Wimbledon, has not been eliminated at this stage since her 2019 debut, beating Boulter or otherwise is contingent on her health holding out.

The former British No. 1 will hope to exploit any possible tentativeness on the other side of the net as she seeks a first top-10 success for the first time in over a year.

That success came against Jessica Pegula at the United Cup in 2024, but that victory has been followed by eight straight losses against elite opponents, most recently losing to Madison Keys in two sets at Roland Garros.

Aiming to snap that undesirable run, Boulter, who has not lost in the opening round in SW19 since her debut in 2017, strives to claim a sixth consecutive round-one success.

That outcome would mean that the 28-year-old improves on a 7-6 Wimbledon record, an event where most of her Grand Slam victories have been achieved.

Having avoided round-one exits at the majors in four consecutive events since last year's French Open, Boulter strives to snap her losing run against the elite and reach her fifth straight second round at the leading events.

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Head To Head

French Open (2024) - First round: Badosa 4-6 7-5 6-4

Both players have faced off once on the women’s tour, a first-round match at last year’s French Open, which Badosa claimed in three tight sets.

Boulter can be encouraged by her performance despite the result, given that the world No. 41 notched the opening set and broke the Spaniard’s serve four times.

However, the British player must overcome the mental block that has seen her fall short in eight consecutive matches against players in the top 10; seven of those losses have been straight-set disappointments, with the 28-year-old only taking one in this season’s United Cup loss to Iga Swiatek, whom she forced to a decider.

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We say: Badosa to win in three sets

Although Badosa’s health is questionable following a recent Berlin setback, the Spaniard, who has not lost in a completed match against a player ranked No. 40 and lower since falling to Amanda Anisimova in Doha in February, is expected to continue Boulter’s miserable record against top 10 players. ID:576448:1false2false3false: from db desktop :LenBod:collect4719:

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