Newsletter: 18 June 2025
Image: Alamy
“I was thinking that* walking down the 18th and I was pretty nervous about not getting into that, so I think that's another huge win for me this week."
*winning would secure a spot in the AIG Women’s Open at Darcey’s home course of Porthcawl.
welcome … anyone else feeling as though this is the calm before the storm of ‘the summer of sport’?!
This week:
💥 Tennis
💥 F1 Academy
💥 Cricket
💥 Netball
💥 The Highlights Reel - sports round-up to keep you in the know but before all that, if you have a summer sports story, please email it to us hello@wearegirlsinsport.com. We’d love to hear from you.
Image AP - Emma Raducanu earlier this year
Tennis
The return of women’s tennis at The Queen’s Club also saw the return of Emma Raducanu to British number 1 after reaching the quarterfinals of the tournament.
Emma dominated her first two rounds with wins against Cristina Bucsa (ESP) - who had won the doubles title at the Birmingham Open the week before - and Rebecca Sramkova (SVK).
She then battled hard against the first seed and current WTA #5 Qinwen Zheng (CHN) just falling short 6-2 6-4.
This week the grass moves further north to Nottingham for the WTA 250, where Katie Boulter will be looking to complete the three-peat.
Amelie Brooks
Last week we were writing about the Sabalenka shade on Gauff but this week it’s much more sinister: Boulter has opened up about the abuse she experiences after a defeat and Raducanu’s stalker has a been identified within the Wimbledon ballot for tickets application process. Organisers at Wimbledon say security will be tightened to protect players. That doesn’t help with online abuse though.
However, there are four Brits through to the second round at Nottingham: Boulter, Sonay Kartal, Francesca Jones and Mimi Xu. Good luck to them all!
CK
F1 Academy - Scarlett Archer
F1 Academy Delivers a thrilling weekend of racing at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve
Round 4 of the F1 Academy season saw the ladies race in Montreal, Canada at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve this past weekend.
There was lots of drama and stand-out drives. Chloe Chambers managed to get pole position in Friday’s qualifying session, and this set her up for a fantastic weekend of racing.
Qualifying was determined for the grid in race 3, the top eight reversed to form the grid for Race 2, and the grid for Race 1 was based on the final grid from the Miami race which was rained out.
🏎️ Race 1
The first race was quite chaotic at the beginning with Chambers and Palmowski making contact in Lap 2. Dorian Pin swooped in to take the race and then took her third win of the season.
Ella Lloyd finished in second place moving up from P7. After Emma Felbermayr was disqualified for a technical infringement, Nina Gademan moved up to third place.
🏎️ Race 2
In Race 2, Emma Felbermayr made such a comeback, winning her first race. Nina Gademan, who started from Pole was in the lead for many of the first laps of the race.
After a late safety car, Austrian Felbermayr made a decisive move on the last lap and made a confident pass which secured her win.
Ella Lloyd finished third and secured her second podium of the weekend.
🏎️ Race 3
Chloe Chambers took the win in Race 3 after another chaotic race. Three safety cars but Chloe handled each restart expertly, defending against pressure from Ella Lloyd. Dorian Pin clawed her way from P5 to finish third.
Next Race: Round 5 Zandvoort August 29th -31st
Cricket
Vitality Blast T20 goes on through the summer so let’s recap what’s been happening…
Warwickshire Women secured a win over Durham Women by 7 wickets, consolidating their top-three position in the table, while
The Blaze defeated previously in-form Surrey Women by 17 runs handing Surrey their first defeat of the tournament. They continued their winning form to beat Durham too.
Surrey were not going to let this malaise set in and chased down Essex’s total to win by five wickets, beating Hampshire later in the week as well.
Danni Wyatt-Hodge of Surrey is the competition’s leading run scorer, partnering well with Grace Harris against Hampshire. Wyatt-Hodge has been instrumental in Surrey’s success this season, helping them secure the top spot in the league.
Surrey, The Blaze and Warwickshire are competing to lead the pack while Somerset are struggling at the bottom.
Other players to watch:
🏏Ella McCaughan - Hampshire
Second highest run-scorer with 327 runs, she has been a key player for Hampshire, anchoring innings and scoring at a high strike rate throughout the tournament.
🏏Suzie Bates - Durham
Former New Zealand captain and experienced batter, Bates has scored 279 runs, including a vital 49-run knock in a recent run chase against Warwickshire on June 17, helping Durham stay competitive despite their lower table position.
🏏Abi Norgrove - Surrey
Known for her explosive hitting, she scored 24 runs off 10 balls in the same match, accelerating Surrey’s innings in the final overs.
Netball
Remember new format in the netball Super League 2025, which reaches its conclusion 6 July - no draws, time outs and the ‘super shot’.
The Netball Super League has seen some exciting action and notable upsets in the last week.
London Mavericks have been in strong form, securing back-to-back wins including a 69–36 thrashing of Birmingham Panthers.
Birmingham Panthers themselves caused a major upset by narrowly defeating defending champions Loughborough Lightning 67–66, shaking up the top of the table.
Loughborough Lightning remain contenders but have faced stiff competition from London Pulse, Manchester Thunder, and Nottingham Forest, all battling for playoff positions.
Standout players include Antonia Mitchell (Birmingham Panthers), Emma Thacker (London Mavericks) and Olivia Tchine (Loughborough Lightning) who is the league’s top goal scorer overall with 81.
ICYMI
Tennis - Mixed doubles at the US Open is looking a little spicier this year! It will be held as a standalone competition before the grand slam tournament begins. It’s hoping it will attract high-quality singles players and there’s already a great pairing in our very own Raducanu and Spanish majors’ winner and all-round good-fun guy, Carlos Alcaraz. There are rule changes too so lots to look out for.
Football - Wales will announce its Euro squad tomorrow (19 June). Not long to go now until the Euros start….
Rugby - Ilona Maher will be following in F1 Academy’s footsteps as the subject of a new documentary produced by Reese Witherspoon’s production company, Hello Sunshine.
Your story here! - We are inclusive at WAGIS and we want your story! Share it with us by emailing hello@wearegirlsinsport.com
Stay cool in the heatwave …
The WAGIS Team x