Katie Boulter Needs To Let Loose At Slams To Be A True Contender

When Katie Boulter defeated Rebecca Marino in three sets on Tuesday evening, it completed a perfect day for her country. She was the sixth British player to win a first-round match at the Australian Open, a record for the nation in the Open era. Boulter wasn’t thinking about being part of history though. The 28-year-old was relieved to still be in the tournament.

"That was way too stressful for me, I would have preferred an easier match today,” she said after beating the Canadian ranked 98^th in the world. The British No. 1 had a very good 2024, bursting into the world’s top 25 for the first time and claiming the San Diego Open after beating the likes of Donna Vekic, Emma Navarro and Marta Kostyuk. Her fiance, Alex de Minaur was courtside for that final win in the States having flown in from Acapulco immediately after he won the Mexican Open. She received plaudits in some quarters for mentioning the disparity between the prize money he earned ($US412,0000) compared to her $US142,000.

Boulter kept up the good work in the grass season too, defeating Emma Raducanu and Karolina Pliskova to retain the Nottingham Open title. She is the less heralded golden girl of British tennis, appearing on the cover of Tatler magazine, enjoying a high profile relationship with a top-ranked men’s player and revelling in a game that is moving in the right direction. A scintillating run at a major tournament would help boost her into new territory.

While her younger compatriot came out of left field to win at Flushing Meadows, Boulter’s journey has been delayed and different. She has often talked about having a “free swing” at the business end of a ranking event and enjoying the experience. “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,” she said after claiming that San Diego title.

She admits she's never really prioritized majors. Until now. That adds stress. Coming out as a fancied player under the brightest lights means that she will have to stand up to the heat. The narrow loss to Iga Swiatek in the United Cup at Sydney was a good marker for 2025.

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Boulter has enjoyed accelerated progress to jump from outside the top 150 to No. 23 within two years. Her last two shots at Wimbledon were pretty ugly affairs. Boulter was completely blown off Centre Court in the third round by Elena Rybakina in 2023, winning just two games. If that was expected, then the exit in 2024 at the hands of fellow Briton Harriet Dart at SW19 was inexplicable.

Boulter made 75 unforced errors, completely capitulated in the second set and let a 6-2 match tiebreak situation end up with an 8-10 reverse. Her opponent was on the ropes and there for the taking but there is a tendency for the week-to-week consistency to go absent without leave on the biggest of stages.

After the defeat by Dart, Boulter claimed that she would work on it. "I don't feel like anything was a massive opportunity. This time next year I'm going to be a better player. It might be because of today, and I'm going to use that tough moment out there to really spur me on for the next few months." Her subsequent straight sets loss to Jessica Bouzas Maneiro at the U.S. Open was even more dispiriting. The post-match comments about being the aggressor was a couple of hours too late. The moment had passed.

There comes a time when embracing the pressure is what moves the dial. Boulter has a habit of becoming passive and Marino needed no second invitation to get back into Tuesday's match, always threatening a break which could have been terminal in the final set. This time, Boulter found a way despite a couple of 0-30 situations and reversed the pressure back on the opponent. It was handy that De Minaur turned up midway through that tense final set to provide moral support.

“Finding a way when someone is swinging free is the difference between the top players and the ones that are ranked slightly lower,” said Boulter knowingly after she made it through to face Veronika Kudermetova. She is learning on the job. Boulter needs to ensure that boldness becomes the norm.