Katie Boulter insists her newfound stardom will not derail her determination for more grass court success.
Boulter, 26, has rapidly emerged as the golden girl of British tennis after clinching her maiden WTA title in Nottingham and kicks off her Wimbledon campaign against Australian Daria Saville this afternoon.
The nation’s new No.1 has spearheaded a red-hot summer for Britain’s female stars after toppling Jodie Burrage in an all-British East Midlands final and also reaching the last four – along with Katie Swan and Lily Miyazaki – in Surbiton the week before.
Boulter, whose boyfriend is Australian ace and world No.17 Alex De Minaur, was the cover star of Tatler magazine this month and in the absence of injured Emma Raducanu, is the unequivocal British female face of SW19 this week.
The world No.89 admits she is feeling the weight of greater expectation but remains solely focused on her tennis as she makes her hotly-anticipated appearance at the sport’s most famous postcode.
“I feel like there’s a lot of people behind me at the moment,” said Boulter, who is supported by the LTA’s Pro Access Programme.
“That’s the biggest difference that I’ve felt recently. I’m just going to keep my head down and my team are going to be doing exactly the same thing we’ve been doing for months on end.
“It’s nice to feel like people appreciate you, but at the same time it’s about the tennis and I’ve got a lot of work to do.
“I’m here feeling very privileged. I’ve got to get my job down and keep myself grounded, working as hard as I can. I don’t think anything changes for me.
“I wouldn’t say anything’s changed. I’m just doing what I need to do and that is my practice, my gym and my treatment. I don’t really feel like I spend much time out of the house or out of the practice courts.
“It’s nice to feel like the fans are behind me and I do really appreciate that. I love to have that feeling when you go out and the crowd is roaring.
“I definitely appreciate it more than anything else on this planet. Hopefully I can use that and people get behind me.”
Boulter reached the third round at the All England Club last year – her furthest ever run at a Grand Slam – before falling to French star Harmony Tan with a place in the last 16 looming. And if she navigates her way that far once again, she has been handed another tricky potential test against ice-cool Kazakh and defending champion Elena Rybakina.
Boulter failed to qualify for the French or Australian Open earlier this year and despite suffering an opening round defeat against world No.29 Petra Martic in Eastbourne last week, has proved a force to be reckoned with on her favoured grass court surface this summer.
Boulter, who reached the second round at SW19 in 2018 and 2021, added: “I feel like I’m playing some brilliant tennis.
“I practiced unbelievably well every single day this week – I’m very happy with where I am.”
For the latest action on the British summer grass court season, check out the LTA website
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