The athlete, aged 29, experienced a challenging year in 2025, falling from a global ranking of 24 to beyond the top 100, and relinquished her status as Britain’s top player due to recurring injuries.
Seeking a new beginning, she parted ways with her long-term trainer, Biljana Veselinovic, and brought in Michael Joyce, previously Maria Sharapova’s coach, at the start of 2026.
Following an early departure in the Australian Open in January, Boulter re-entered the global top 100 rankings by securing a WTA 250 championship in Ostrava and progressing to the third round in Miami.
Nevertheless, her performance stayed erratic, having managed only three WTA Tour singles victories across four clay-court events leading up to the significant Paris tournament.
Both competitors frequently committed unforced errors, and they exchanged service breaks twice during the initial set before Boulter ultimately secured it on her second opportunity to serve.
Consecutive double faults by Boulter gave Urhobo an early lead in the second set; despite Boulter equalizing midway through, the player from Florida swiftly regained her advantage, compelling a final set.
The standard of play elevated from both participants in the third set, with the quality showing some improvement as Boulter asserted control over the match by achieving a break in the fourth game.
Again, the British player could not close out the set with her serve, ultimately clinching the victory – following two hours and 10 minutes – by breaking Urhobo’s serve for the sixth occasion.
In the end, Urhobo’s 58 unforced errors, compared to Boulter’s 35, proved excessively detrimental for the emerging talent, who had entered the top 200 rankings for the inaugural time earlier in the year.
