The 'Emma Raducanu effect' is working - despite her early exit from Wimbledon

On Saturday, Katie Boulter will battle for a place in the second week at Wimbledon for the first time in her career. Her source of inspiration? Emma Raducanu.

"What she did was astonishing," Boulter said on Thursday. "She came out, she surprised everyone, and she played some fearless tennis. That's what's so impressive. I hope I can go out there and do the same thing. I'd love to do what she's done. You never know, one day it might happen." 

That newfound belief has spread across British tennis. Boulter is six years Raducanu's senior, and has far more tour-level experience and a slew of serious injuries under her belt. But, like the rest of the British pack at Wimbledon not named Andy Murray, she has never come close to achieving what Raducanu did in her debut season.

Raducanu, 19, has since been thrust into the spotlight and experienced well-documented teething issues adapting to the tour. Though she was unable to match her astonishing New York heroics at Wimbledon this week, and fell to Caroline Garcia in the second round, her impact has been felt widely.

Just as 100,000 Britons took up recreational tennis in the three months after Raducanu's US Open victory, so too has there been an uptake in results for the elite cohort. The Raducanu bounce in British tennis has been notable: 10 reached the second round in singles at the All England Club this week, the most in 38 years. Boulter is also one of four Brits who made the third round, a feat that has only been achieved four times in the last 25 years.

If Boulter or Liam Broady can back up wins from Heather Watson and Cam Norrie, there will be more than two British players in the second week at Wimbledon for the first time since 1979. 

The irony is that neither Raducanu nor