Becoming British number one, winning her first WTA Tour title and moving up to a career-best ranking - it has been some week for Katie Boulter, but she wants this to just be the beginning.

"I'm at a career high and really happy, but not content and have a long way to go," said Boulter, who described her Nottingham win as something she had dreamed of since she was four years old.

"My aim is not to be top 100, it's to be 50, 40, 30. Ever since I broke through the first time I believed I had the game to become that player and that will always be my main focus."

It has been a mixed few years for British women's tennis.

The undoubted highlight was Emma Raducanu's stunning US Open triumph in 2021 when, aged 18, she became the first British female to win a Grand Slam singles title in 44 years.

But you only have to look back a few weeks for the low point.

Seven players lost in French Open qualifying, meaning no British female featured in the main draw at a Grand Slam for the first time since the 2009 US Open.

There were also no Britons in the top 100 at the cut-off point for this year's Wimbledon, with British women instead relying on wildcards or having to fight through three rounds of qualifying to appear at SW19.

But the Nottingham Open provided a much-needed shot in the arm for British women's tennis.

With Raducanu missing the grass-court season following hand and ankle surgery, Boulter became only the 23rd player to become British female number one since the rankings began in 1975.

"Naturally, I am very proud to join the women before me who have reached that historic spot," Boulter said last Monday.

"This little girl would be proud if I told her one day she would be British number one. Whether it be for one minute, one day or one year - it's not my biggest goal but shows I'm heading in the right direction."

The battle to keep that number one ranking became an interesting side story throughout Boulter's progress in Nottingham.

Before the Nottingham Open, five players - Boulter (126th), Burrage (131st), Katie Swan (134th), Harriet Dart (143rd) and Heather Watson (195th) - had the chance to end the tournament as British number one, while Raducanu (128th) would have regained the position without playing if these five had all lost in the opening two rounds.

Instead it proved to be a record-breaking week.

Four Britons made the quarter-finals, the first-time that had happened in the WTA's 50-year history, three of them advanced into the semi-finals before the first all-British WTA final since Sue Barker beat Virginia Wade in San Francisco, USA on 28 February, 1977.

Boulter played British opponents in four of her five rounds at Nottingham. If she had lost to Dart in their quarter-final or Burrage in the final her stay at the top of British tennis would have lasted for only seven days.

However, the championship win leaves Boulter 31 places above Burrage and with a strong chance to go into Wimbledon as British number one.

"Hopefully I can find some consistency and make this week in, week out - my challenge is to find consistency," Boulter said.

That consistency will be tested this week as she will lose the 60 ranking points from reaching the Birmingham Classic quarter-finals last year and has a tough draw in this year's event.

On Tuesday she plays China's Lin Zhu, world number 39, with Poland's Magda Linette, 20th in the rankings, a potential opponent in the last 16.

Meanwhile, Burrage, now 108th and only two places off a career high, faces Dart, ranked 134th, in the opening round in Birmingham.

If Boulter loses in the first round, Burrage would need to reach the final to overtake her, while if Boulter wins on Tuesday, only a tournament title for Burrage would take her above Boulter's points tally.

For Dart, who played then-world number one Ashleigh Barty on Centre Court in the third round of Wimbledon in 2019, her only target is to get back into the world's top 100.

Asked about the race to become British number one Dart, speaking earlier this week, said: "Whether it's now, never or later I don't know, I'm just trying to focus on my own things. If I'm honest I would rather be in the top 20 and actually that might be something that comes with it.

"I just want to get my ranking back up there, that's my only real focus. I would like to finish the year back inside the top 100, I spent the whole of last year inside it."

'Everyone is playing so well'

Last month, Britain's top ranked male player, Dan Evans, said Raducanu's US Open win had "papered over the cracks" in the sport.

"The rankings don't lie, do they?" Evans said in May. "There's enough people playing junior tennis. We just don't help them. It's a scarce draw."

But Watson, who had three spells as British number one between 2012 and 2015 and reached the last 16 of Wimbledon last year - although she did not earn any ranking points for doing so - felt the British players were better than their rankings suggested.

"Everyone is playing so well at the moment and this cluster of girls that are in that 100 range, including myself, I don't feel our rankings represent how well we are playing," Watson said.

"I know from practising with them all the time, we're all playing better than that [their rankings], so I'm not surprised there were three of us in the semi-finals."

Spanish world number two Carlos Alcaraz says a short holiday in Ibiza helped "turn off" his mind after the disappointment of his French Open semi-final defeat by Novak Djokovic.

He says he is now mentally refreshed as he prepares to play at Queen's.

"It is important to enjoy your life a bit as well," the 20-year-old said.

"It is really important to come back to tennis feeling good."

In only his second Grand Slam semi-final, and his first match against Djokovic at a major, top seed Alcaraz started cramping early in the third set at Roland Garros, with Djokovic ultimately winning 6-3 5-7 6-1 6-1.

Alcaraz said he spent "one or two days" after the match thinking about what happened and how he could control his nerves better in the future.

The US Open champion then travelled to Ibiza for a few days to switch off from tennis and spend time with friends, including Spanish footballers Sergio Reguilon and Lucas Vazquez, plus Manchester United's Argentine defender Lisandro Martinez.

"It was a good location and I like that kind of time to turn off your mind," he said.

"I thought about the match against Novak and what happened, to take positive things about that and also trying to learn, but it was just the first one or two days after the match.

"After that it's a chance to forget that match and focus on going to the grass season."

Alcaraz has added the Cinch Championships at Queen's Club to his schedule for the first time, having only previously played two senior tournaments on grass, both at Wimbledon.

Given a wildcard at the All England Club in 2021, the then 18-year-old lost to Russian second seed Daniil Medvedev in the second round before reaching the last 16 on his return last year.

Growing up in Murcia, a sun-drenched region of south-east Spain, there was little opportunity for Alcaraz to play on grass courts before moving into the senior ranks.

Before making his Queen's debut against 19-year-old Frenchman Arthur Fils on Tuesday, Alcaraz said he was confident his game, which has already brought success on clay and hard courts, can translate to the British grass courts.

"The most difficult part is to move well on grass - you have to be careful, more than other surfaces," he said.

"There are a lot of players who slide on grass. I am not one of them, so I have to think about the movement.

"I have to be focused on every movement and shot. For me it is more tiring when you are moving on grass. It is totally different, so you have to be really specific.

"The most comfortable is going to the net and playing aggressive all the time. It is similar to the other surfaces, so playing that style is comfortable and I like it."

Nick Kyrgios says he will give himself every chance to be ready for Wimbledon after withdrawing from the Halle Open with an ongoing knee problem.

Runner-up at the All England Club last year, Kyrgios has played just one match in the past five months.

"As you all know, that tournament [Wimbledon] means a lot to me and I just want to do everything right by my body," Kyrgios added.

Kyrgios suffered a first-round loss to China's Wu Yibing at the Stuttgart Open last week, struggling with his movement during a straight-set defeat.

He reached the semi-finals in Halle last year and then made a maiden Grand Slam final at Wimbledon, where he lost to Novak Djokovic.

In a video released by Halle's organisers, Kyrgios said he is still dealing with "a couple of things with my knee".

"I didn't want to go out there and not give you the same performance I gave last year [at Halle]. So hopefully next year I'll be healthy enough to play," he said.

After his loss in Stuttgart, Kyrgios tweeted: "It's a process to get back to where I was. I know it's hard for you to see me perform like today, but I need more time and hopefully can get back to where I was."

Kyrgios is scheduled to play in Mallorca next week, while Wimbledon starts on 3 July.

Chelsea are under pressure to drop their asking price for Arsenal target Kai Havertz after being informed he has no intention of signing a new contract, sources have told ESPN.

Arsenal are interested in pursuing a move for the 24-year-old but have so far proved reluctant to meet their London rivals' £70 million valuation of Havertz.

- Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.)

Sources have told ESPN that Havertz is open to joining Arsenal and the club do not view his existing wage at Chelsea -- thought to be around £220,000-a-week -- as prohibitive to a transfer.

They have had one offer rejected so far but are expected to return with an improved bid.

It remains to be seen whether Bayern Munich enter the running having previously expressed an interest in Havertz.

Chelsea will hope Bayern table a bid to help drive the price up, but regardless Havertz is believed to have informed the club he has no desire to extend his contract, which expires in 2025.

Sources have told ESPN that during conversations, Arsenal have indicated that in addition to operating as a No. 10 ten or No. 8, they see Havertz as capable of playing in any of three attacking positions in an interchangeable forward line at the top of a 4-3-3 system. Havertz's versatility is a big attraction for Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta, who has played a personal role in negotiations.

Sources have told ESPN there is surprise at Chelsea's asking price given they signed Havertz for £71m in September 2020, and he has endured a mixed spell at Stamford Bridge.

Havertz scored the winning goal in the 2021 Champions League final but struggled to find consistency in his performances, scoring 32 goals in 139 games in all competitons.

Chelsea are also under a degree of pressure to raise funds before June 30 as they seek to mitigate losses resulting from spending around £600m on players only to miss out on qualifying for any European qualification next season.

Havertz's valuation is the same as the price Chelsea are demanding for Mason Mount, who is attracting interest from Manchester United. Sources told ESPN that Chelsea rejected a bid of £40m from United last week.

Wing Ollie Hassell-Collins has been dropped from England's World Cup training squad as Northampton Saints and Leicester Tigers players return.

Scrum-halves Ben Spencer and Harry Randall also make way as Tigers' Ben Youngs and Jack van Poortvliet plus Saints' Alex Mitchell are drafted in.

Northampton and Leicester were the Premiership's losing semi-finalists.

The squad is the second of three to be named by head coach Steve Borthwick before the four-Test summer series starts against Wales on 5 August.

On 7 August he will announce his 33-man squad for the World Cup, which starts on 8 September.

Saracens and Sale Sharks players have not yet been included following the Premiership final.

Centre Ollie Lawrence and hooker Jack Walker remain with the squad despite sustaining knee and calf injuries respectively in training last week.

Number eight Billy Vunipola, lock Ollie Chessum and hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie are also attending the camp as they continue their recoveries from injury.

England squad

Forwards: Jamie Blamire, Dan Cole, Alex Dombrandt, Tom Dunn, Charlie Ewels, Ellis Genge, Joe Heyes, Ted Hill, Courtney Lawes, Lewis Ludlam, Joe Marler, George Martin, Zach Mercer, Beno Obano, Tom Pearson, Val Rapava-Ruskin, David Ribbans, Kyle Sinckler, Will Stuart, Sam Underhill.

Backs: Henry Arundell, Danny Care, Joe Cokanasiga, Fraser Dingwall, Tommy Freeman, Will Joseph, Joe Marchant, Jonny May, Alex Mitchell, Cadan Murley, Guy Porter, Henry Slade, Fin Smith, Marcus Smith, Freddie Steward, Jack van Poortvliet, Anthony Watson, Ben Youngs.

Real Madrid have signed Espanyol and Spain forward Joselu on a season-long loan with an option to make the deal permanent, the club announced on Monday.

Joselu, 33, scored 16 LaLiga goals for Espanyol last season -- only Robert Lewandowski and Karim Benzema scored more -- as they were relegated from Spain's top flight.

- Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.)

He was part of Spain's squad for the UEFA Nations League final four, scoring the winner against Italy in their 2-1 semifinal victory after coming on as an 84th-minute substitute.

Madrid have been looking to bring in a striker after Benzema and Mariano Diaz left this month, leaving Vinicius Junior and Rodrgyo as the club's only senior forwards.

Chelsea are considering whether to trigger the €35 million ($38.2m) release clause in Villarreal forward Nicolas Jackson's contract in the coming days, sources have told ESPN.

The 21-year-old is believed to have agreed personal terms on a move to Stamford Bridge and talks between the clubs are expected to progress later this week after Jackson represents Senegal against Brazil on Tuesday.

- Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.)

It remains possible that Chelsea may try to negotiate a lower fee with Villarreal given Jackson's willingness to leave but the Spanish club would ideally prefer not to sell.

Sources also suggest other clubs have expressed an interest in Jackson. He almost moved to Bournemouth in January before the deal collapsed when the player sustained a hamstring injury. It is understood at least one club in Germany is also monitoring the situation.

New Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino is keen to bolster the club's attacking options with Kai Havertz in talks to join Arsenal and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang deemed surplus to requirements. Jackson can play as a central striker or on the wing. He scored 13 goals in all competitions last season but finished in fine form, netting nine times in his final eight games.

Chelsea are expected to confirm the signing of RB Leipzig forward Christopher Nkunku in a deal worth around €60m ($65.5m) at the beginning of July.

AW promotion

A sports psychology career involves helping sportspersons attain their goals and deal with the anxiety that may obstruct their performance and motivation. As a sports psychologist, you help your clients improve their performance by teaching them mental training techniques or skills they can apply for peak performance or more consistency. You can also teach them how to maximize their practice time and manage their schedule routine well.

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Endnote

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