On June 20, 2025, Katie Boulter will face McCartney Kessler in an eagerly anticipated quarterfinal match at the Nottingham Open, held in Nottingham, Great Britain. This WTA 250 event, played on grass courts, features a prize pool of $1,064,500 and will be broadcast live on the Tennis Channel in the USA and BBC/Tennis Channel in the UK. The McCartney Kessler Nottingham Open 2025 quarterfinal match promises to be compelling as both players seek to advance to the semifinals.

Player Performance and Grass-Court Form

Eighth seed Katie Boulter, a home crowd favorite, enters the quarterfinals with moderate momentum from her 2025 season, having competed in 24 matches across the ITF and main tours, winning 15. Boulter’s most notable accomplishment in this tournament is reaching the quarterfinal stage, her highest on the main WTA Tour at Nottingham. Earlier this year, she claimed an ITF title in Paris, overcoming Chloe Pacquet in a three-set final.

Boulter began her grass-court season at the Queen’s Club Championships, advancing past Ajla Tomljanovic but falling to Diana Shnaider in the next round. At Nottingham, she secured a confident 6-2, 6-2 victory over Lulu Sun in round one and battled through a challenging three-setter against Sonay Kartal in round two, winning 6-4, 1-6, 7-5.

Meanwhile, American McCartney Kessler has enjoyed a strong 2025 campaign, claiming two finals wins this year. She took the title at the Hobart International by defeating Elise Mertens and was runner-up at the ATX Open in Austin, falling to Jessica Pegula in the final.

Kessler’s grass season started at Queen’s where she dispatched Francesca Jones before narrowly losing in three sets to Zheng Qinwen. Her Nottingham debut was marked by an impressive 7-5, 6-7 (3), 7-5 upset against top seed Beatriz Haddad Maia. She then followed that with a solid 6-1, 6-4 win over Lin Zhu in the second round.

First Encounter Between Boulter and Kessler

This quarterfinal meeting will mark the first time Katie Boulter and McCartney Kessler face each other on the WTA Tour, adding an element of intrigue to their matchup as both seek to establish dominance.

Grass-Court Experience and Rivalry Context

Katie Boulter holds a significant edge on grass courts, boasting a 64 percent win rate, which stands out as her strongest surface. Notably, both of her grass-court titles have come at the Nottingham Open, where she captured the championship in the past two years. She defeated Jodie Burrage 6-3, 6-3 in the 2023 final and overcame Karolina Pliskova 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 to retain her crown last year.

In contrast, McCartney Kessler is yet to reach a grass-court final in her career. All her career finals—including those in Hobart and Austin this year—have taken place on hard courts, highlighting this match as a key test of her adaptability to grass.

Predicted Outcome and Crowd Impact

With the advantage of playing at home and the support of an enthusiastic crowd, Boulter enters this quarterfinal as the favorite. Her familiarity with the surface and previous success at Nottingham suggest she will have an edge, though Kessler’s recent form and resilience make the contest far from predictable.

Because of these factors, the projected outcome favors Boulter to win in a hard-fought three-set match, reflecting both her grass-court strengths and the challenge posed by Kessler’s rising game. The winner will advance to the semifinals, moving closer to taking the Nottingham Open title.