Former British No 1 makes bullish predictions for Katie Boulter and Emma Raducanu

British No 1 Katie Boulter is heading into the Indian Wells Masters event on a real high after a breakthrough victory at the WTA 500 tournament in San Diego and that may only be the starting point for what is to come for the 27-year-old.

Boulter has battled her entire career for success at the top of the game, but it has come along belatedly for the big-hitting baseliner who is now in the top 30 of the world rankings for the first time in her career.

Boulter has set her sights on pushing further up the rankings after winning the biggest title of her career.

The British number one defeated five top-40 players to win the San Diego Open, bringing her a first WTA 500 trophy and elevating her ranking to 27.

With Cameron Norrie slipping to 28, it means Boulter is the highest-ranked British singles player of either gender heading into the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, which begins on Wednesday.

The same week a year ago, Boulter was ranked outside the world’s top 150, and she does not have many points to defend until the grass-court tournament in Nottingham in June, where last year she picked up her first WTA title.

“I feel like I’ve started the year very well and I’ve given myself the best opportunity to set myself up for the rest of the year,” said 27-year-old Boulter.

“I’ve got a free swing, I don’t really have too much pressure. I’m just here enjoying myself and working as hard as I possibly can with a great team. You never know what could happen so I’m looking forward to the rest of the year.”

The weekend was made even more special for Boulter by the success of boyfriend Alex De Minaur, who successfully defended his title in Acapulco on Saturday before catching an early morning flight to cheer on the British star.

They join the likes of former couples Jimmy Connors and Chris Evert and Lleyton Hewitt and Kim Clijsters in winning titles on the same weekend, and Boulter said: “I think that is very cool.

“I had no idea other people had done it. To share something with my other half is going to be something that we won’t forget.”

READ MORE: Emma Raducanu handed a glorious chance to make progress after kind Indian Wells draw

Now former British No 1 Laura Robson has backed Boulter to continue her rise, as she told Sky Sports a place in the top 20 of the WTA rankings is within her reach.

“It’s been slow and steady progress which I think has been the biggest change because it doesn’t feel overwhelming in the moment when you have these big wins,” said Robson.

“She started the year really well by beating Jessica Pegula in one of her first matches. You’re thinking ‘wow’ she’s really hitting it big but she’s been playing really consistent tennis and she’s really improved her movement so much.

“I think a lot of people kind of didn’t expect her to miss the Middle Eastern swing in Doha and Dubai because she knew she wanted quite a big training block going into these American tournaments and what a difference it’s made!

“Physically, she’s looking stronger than ever, so for me not a surprise at all actually.

“She’s cracked the top 30 this week and I feel like the sky’s the limit really because it’s been slow and steady progress. It doesn’t feel like top 20 is out of the question,” added Robson.

“She doesn’t have a lot to defend until around the grass season in the summer so she’ll be thinking ‘what tournaments can I play by creating a smart schedule for myself to pick up some good wins?’.

“She’s got a couple of days off before the first round in Indian Wells so she will be physically really fresh and she doesn’t have anything to defend, so she’s probably thinking top 20 already.

“Last year she was playing Australian Open qualifying and trying to get back inside the top 100, which felt a long way off, but suddenly we’re already there.”

Robson is also confident Emma Raducanu can make progress as she prepares to play at Indian Wells, a year after she impressively reached the fourth round of this tournament.

“She played very well in some of the matches she had this year and she clearly feels her level is good enough to challenge at these tournaments, so why not go for them?” Robson told Tennis365.

“If it doesn’t go well, then you can go back to the drawing board and maybe enter a few lower tournaments.

“If the opportunities are there to pick up very big points without too many match wins without winning too many matches, you have to take them.

“The way the points work, you could win two WTA 250 tournaments or have a run at a WTA 1000 event and you basically get the same number of points for your ranking. If I were here, I’d be playing the same tournaments.

“She is competing really well and ever in the matches she has lost, she has been right in them,” added Robson.

“The fact that she has been playing more aggressively and getting closer to the baseline is great to see. She is playing a brand of tennis close to what we saw when she won the US Open and she just needs time on court and consistency to get her to that level.

“Emma has used this re-start as an opportunity to just start again and it has been really good to see.”

While the two titles won by Boulter and De Minaur last weekend earned their recipients 500 ranking points, De Minaur took home around £325,000 and Boulter just £112,000, highlighting the continuing disparity between the ATP and WTA Tour away from the biggest joint events.