Katie Boulter and Jodie Burrage to meet in first all

Great Britain’s embarrassing spell without a top-100 female has been capped at seven weeks, after Katie Boulter beat Heather Watson to ensure that she will dip under the three-digit mark on Monday.

It is perhaps fitting that Boulter should be the next British woman to confirm her ascent into the elite group of world tennis. She was the one who took public umbrage at media criticism following Emma Raducanu’s slide down the rankings (which, on May 8, had left Great Britain without a top 100 player for the first time in 15 years).

After beating Harriet Dart in Friday’s quarter-final at the Rothesay Open, Boulter had remarked: “There was a lot of talk about if we had the next players coming up from a lot of the press. And I feel like we’ve really shown this week there’s a lot of depth in British tennis.”

The point remains moot, but Boulter continued her surge on Saturday. Her reward for a 6-4, 7-5 win over Watson will be a maiden appearance in the final of a WTA event.

Whatever happens on Sunday, the British game will be able to celebrate a first-time WTA champion. Because the final in Nottingham will pit 26-year-old Boulter against a compatriot in 24-year-old Jodie Burrage. It is not just the title that is at stake, but the national No1 ranking too.