British Number One Boulter Exits US Open

It was a humbling night for British number one Katie Boulter, as the world number 62 was thrashed in straight sets by Karolina Muchova in the second round at the US Open.

Seventh-seed Muchova was in blistering form from the off, after the match was moved from the outside courts to the Louis Armstrong Stadium following heavy rain in New York.

Boulter’s First Serve Woes

The location change had a clear effect on Boulter, who racked up eight double faults and won just 33% of points on her first serve.

And it was looking ominous when the Boulter serve was broken in the opening game of the match, but the 28-year-old responded superbly with a break back in the following game.

But that was to be the last game Boulter won, and after Muchova held to go 2-1 up in the first set, it was one-way traffic. An unforced error from the baseline gifted Muchova her fourth break of the match and a 6-1 first set victory in less than half an hour.

Muchova Wraps Up Inside 60 Minutes

And the second set was an even swifter affair.

Despite a close opening service game from Boulter she was broken once again and after Muchova won game five to love to go 5-0 up, the writing was on the wall.

And at 15-40, a fierce forehand return was too much for Boulter to handle, as Muchova completed a 58-minute 6-1 6-0 victory to set up a third-round clash with American 26th-seed Emma Navarro. Wimbledon runner-up Muchova has now lost only four games in her first four sets of tennis at the US Open and looks good each-way value at 16/1 to go all the way in this one.

For Boulter, though, defeat caps off a poor year in Grand Slam tennis that has seen her win just twice at the majors in 2026.