Back to the Tennis Newsfeed

Birmingham Classic results: British number one Katie Boulter loses to Zhu Lin in first round

British number one Katie Boulter suffered a first-round defeat at the Birmingham Classic, two days after winning her first WTA Tour title.

Boulter, on the back of her fine Nottingham Open triumph, lost 7-5 7-5 to China's Zhu Lin.

Fellow Britons Harriet Dart and Jodie Burrage meet in their first-round match later on Tuesday.

Burrage can replace Boulter as British number one but would need to reach the final in Birmingham to overtake her.

Birmingham is one of a number of British grass-court events held before Wimbledon, which begins on 3 July.

Boulter looked uncomfortable with proceedings in Birmingham as she complained to the umpire about some shots she felt were long but were not called and Zhu moved to a first-set win.