Emma Raducanu stormed into the final of the HSBC Championships after thumping American Iva Jovic 6-2, 6-2 on a Saturday that saw the British number one win two matches at Queen’s.

Raducanu reached the third WTA Tour-level final of her career by brushing aside 18-year-old Jovic in straight sets in London.

The weather-plagued second edition of the women’s tournament at Queen’s meant Raducanu had a busy day, first beating Kamilla Rakhimova 6-3, 7-5 at the Andy Murray Arena in a quarter-final briefly interrupted by the King’s birthday flyover before facing Jovic.

The 23-year-old’s opponent for Sunday’s final will be Croatian lucky loser Donna Vekic, who beat British number three Katie Boulter 6-1, 6-3 in the match preceding Raducanu’s on centre court.

“This week has been incredible,” Raducanu said on court.

“I’ve really enjoyed playing here and I think that really shows in my tennis and how I’ve been able to compete, stick out some really tough moments and it means everything.”

Raducanu will hope to finally add to the US Open title she memorably claimed as a wild card in 2021.

“Of course, if you ask any player, especially any Brit, you would love to lift the title here,” she added.

Last month, after running through a carousel of coaches since, the Briton rehired Andrew Richardson, the man who helped her land that historic title.

She also reached the final at the Transylvania Open in February, exacting revenge on that tournament’s winner, Sorana Cirstea, in the last 16 at Queen’s.

A slip in the second set of Raducanu’s quarter-final sparked concern about the Briton’s fitness after she emerged from a medical pause with her left thigh wrapped in heavy tape, which she later removed in that victory.

She appeared on court before the semi-final with a smaller patch in the same area, Jovic also sporting strapping on her left ankle.

Raducanu earned her first break with an 80mph winner in the fourth game and there was a pause after she held the next for Jovic to consult her physiotherapist.

The Briton used the pause to fuel up, munching on a banana as Jovic’s ankle was re-strapped, and it was not long before Raducanu, who had not dropped a set in her run to the semi-final, wrapped up the first.

Jovic looked visibly frustrated as she walked off the court and Raducanu, inspired by the home support, was quickly up a break after the second game before the opponents exchanged breaks over the next two.

Raducanu saved three break points to take a 4-1 lead after a lengthy fifth game as the more rested Jovic, who beat compatriot Amanda Anisimova in three sets on Friday to reach the semi-final, looked for a way to throw the home favourite off her game and held to make it 5-2.

But Raducanu would not be deterred, fighting through a gritty service game to put herself one game away from a place in Sunday’s final and superbly polishing off the win with a third break in the set of the nevertheless formidable American teenager’s serve.

Emma Raducanu admitted she was “in awe” after the “insane” interruption of the King’s birthday flypast briefly delayed her quarter-final victory at the HSBC Championships.

The British number one will play American Iva Jovic later on Saturday after beating Kamilla Rakhimova 6-3, 7-5 at Queen’s.

Croatian lucky loser Donna Vekic meanwhile reached the final with a comfortable 6-1, 6-3 victory over Briton Katie Boulter.

Boulter secured the biggest victory of her career by ranking when she knocked out the tournament’s top seed, Kazakhstani world number two Elena Rybakina, on Friday. But she could not recreate quite the same magic on Saturday as she went out in one hour and six minutes.

Raducanu was up 40-0 and serving in the fifth game when the first set was paused for the Trooping the Colour spectacle, as a series of aircraft thundered directly over centre court capped off by the Red Arrows, much to the initial bafflement, then amusement, of the 2021 US Open winner.

“It was insane,” Raducanu told the BBC after the delay of around five minutes. “I couldn’t play with that. I was distracted and in awe of what was going on, and I think the crowd loved it, too.

“For me, I remember when I was younger watching them fly over, but to be watching them from this view at the Queen’s Club, I think it was a fun moment with the crowd and I really enjoyed the interaction.”

She eventually secured the first set and was a break up in the second, leading 3-1, when she slipped behind the baseline, initially carrying on but, after Rakhimova reduced the deficit to one game, called for a medical time out.

Raducanu returned with significant strapping on her left thigh, which was removed after Rakhimova took a 4-3 second-set lead.

“I think right now it’s a mix of adrenaline, but it was tough to take that fall. I feel like I was in a pretty good spot in the match, and on grass these things can happen,” said Raducanu, when asked about her injury on court after finally booking her place in the last four.

Raducanu has matched her best WTA Tour-level result on grass, the semi-final at Nottingham in 2024, and her semi-final run at Washington 2025, her career-best result at a WTA 500 event.

The weather-plagued second edition of the women’s tournament at Queen’s means Raducanu is forced to play twice on Saturday, after her last-eight encounter was postponed from Friday evening – a day also impacted by Thursday’s full-day washout.

“Obviously it’s not easy to double up and play two matches,” Raducanu told the BBC. “It’s not something I’ve done before."

Emma Raducanu battled into the Queen's semi-finals later on Saturday after the UK king’s birthday flypast briefly interrupted her 6-3, 7-5 victory over Kamilla Rakhimova.

Rain had plagued the second edition of these championships in London, forcing the British number one’s quarter-final with the Uzbekistani WTA world number 78 to be postponed from Friday.

The 23-year-old, who missed two and a half months of tennis with a post-viral illness earlier this season, has bounced back from a disappointing first-round exit at the French Open to match her best WTA Tour-level result on grass.

The former US Open champion will play Iva Jovic in the last four. Briton Katie Boulter was taking on Croatian Donna Vekić in the first semi-final.