British duo snubbed: Emma Raducanu and Katie Boulter doubles not televised at Queen's Club Championships

The start of the grass-court swing brought exciting news with a star-studded doubles pairing at the WTA Queen's Club Championships: Emma Raducanu and Katie Boulter forming a high-profile local duo for the inaugural women's edition of the tournament.

The grass-court swing is undoubtedly a celebration for British tennis fans. There are three tournaments on British soil for women and two for men, making up a short five-week swing that culminates in Wimbledon, the legendary stadium on the outskirts of London.

This Monday, British No. 1 Boulter (No. 37) and British No. 2 Raducanu (No. 49) – the only British Grand Slam champion since Virginia Wade in 1977 – made their doubles debut at Queen's. However, they faced a broadcasting snub, as their match was not televised.

The duo played their first-round doubles match this Monday, comfortably defeating specialists Xinyu Jiang and Wu Fang-hsien 6-4, 6-2. However, priority was given to the singles matches played on the Andy Murray Arena. The doubles match, played on Court 1, remained off-screen.

According to tennis specialist journalist James Gray, the WTA had to fulfill its contractual obligation with the BBC, where the matches to be broadcast were determined 60 days in advance. This schedule excluded doubles matches, likely before it was known that Raducanu and Boulter would be partnering in the tournament.

Boulter will debut in singles this Tuesday against Australian Ajla Tomljanovic, while Raducanu will face Spain's Cristina Bucsa.