KAtty Boulter had 18 months to get used to being Britain’s No. 1. Above all, it was a time of great milestones and opportunities; from winning her first stack of titles, debuting in the top 30 and gracing the covers of fashion magazines to feeling the love of her supporters in far-flung tournaments around the world.
The trade-off of becoming a famous athlete, however, is sometimes jarring, including run-ins with a handful of corrupt so-called fans. “People followed me sometimes,” says Boulter. “I actually went to pick up Alex [de Minaur, her boyfriend and fellow tennis player] from Queens and had someone follow me in the car. We went to Sloane Square, got out, walked around the shops and stuff and the same car followed me home. I was with Alex so it was absolutely fine, but yeah, it wasn’t the best feeling.’
Boulter stresses that she’s not unique and says it’s something most women and girls worry about at various points in their lives, whether they’re athletes or not. “It’s something I’ve always thought about. As women, if we are alone at home at night, sometimes we really think about these things.
She talks about being followed quite nonchalantly, perhaps because there are many cases of harassment or stalking of tennis players. Most recently, a man who stalked Boulter’s British teammate, Emma Radukanu, got restraining order in 2022 for showing up at her house repeatedly. Boulter nods when I mention American Danielle Collins, another WTA player who shared her own experience of being chased this year. “It happens to all of us, it’s part of life when you’re in the public eye a little bit,” says Boulter. “You obviously don’t feel comfortable…”
Has she had any particularly scary situations? “Once in Nottingham [at the tournament she won in 2023 and 2024]someone sent me a message on social media saying, “I’m out. I will hurt you if you go outside. Obviously I alerted the WTA and they found the person who was actually on site. Things like this happen all the time. We are obviously very well protected, which makes you feel safe. The WTA does a great job of being there for you with this. I feel like we’re protected as much as possible, which at least gives you some peace of mind.”
It seems like a lot to handle while dealing with the pressure of trying to win a tournament, but Boulter shrugged sadly. “It’s kind of normal these days. Sometimes the world is strange.”
Perhaps it’s no wonder Boulter says he prefers to go “under the radar”. But it was getting harder and harder. This year was without a doubt her best season to date. She won two titles, including the biggest of his career at the San Diego Opena WTA 500 event played in March. In all five matches that week, she defeated players ranked above her, including Donna Vekic and Emma Navarro, who both reached Grand Slam semifinals later in the year. She then defended her title in Nottingham, memorably defeating Radukanu in a rain-interrupted three-hour semi-final, and also became an Olympian in Paris, reaching the doubles quarter-finals with Heather Watson.
We meet in the sprawling lobby of a seaside resort in Torremolinos, near Malaga, on the week she ended the season by leading Great Britain to Billie Jean King Cup Semifinals. Boulter’s hair is scraped back in her trademark high ponytail and she holds a takeaway cup of coffee in her hands after a late night finish to their match the previous day.
Her recent results made the great king highlight her potential. “Katie Boulter, people need to pay attention to her,” she said in an interview with the BBC. “I’ve been watching her for about five years and every year she gets a little bit better – I don’t think people give her enough credit. It’s faster, more consistent.”
Boulter, 28, was surprised when she was told. “It was a really nice moment, very sweet,” she says. “It really gives you confidence, it makes you realize that people are noticing. Coming from someone like her, she’s been in this game for a very long time. She knows what she is doing, she is the sport, she is a legend and we all rely on her. We know what she has done for us. When she says things like that, you listen.
Outside of people like King and her inner circle, Boulter says she’s not in the habit of paying too much attention to outside opinions. She avoids spending too much time on her phone, citing the pressure to look a certain way and the judgment players face on social media. Her time spent with her family and her close relationship with her grandfather inspired her to work with the charity Age UK during the Covid pandemic. She recently had a tennis session with older players and left feeling re-energized: “I always try to give back to this generation. Sometimes we forget about the elderly. You don’t always get a chance to sit down and really talk. It’s never enough, but I try to do more and more.”
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Boulter strikes you as a woman and athlete who knows herself better now. On the court, the thing that really clicked was finally being able to rely on his body. This is largely due to the introduction of Andy Murray’s former coach Matt Little to her team last year, plus the continued support of her trainer Biljana Veselinovic and personal physio Rory Mee. The focus in 2024 was about being more intentional with her program, including physical work on the court along with the gym. Her body is holding up like never before, as evidenced by her decision to embark on a seven-week trip around Asia in the fall, where she reached third final of the year in Hong Kong. Completing a 51-match season without major body concerns is something Boulter has never experienced after setbacks from injury and chronic fatigue in her early 20s and teenage years. “Touch wood,” she says superstitiously when talking about her improvements.
She describes the off-season as a “joke” as she will barely get a week off before preseason begins, but is trying to take some time to think about 2024. “A lot of people go their whole career without winning a title and sometimes I don’t realize how hard it is or how much I appreciate it. At that time, you can’t even absorb it. Myself after the final in San Diego, [her opponent] Marta Kostyuk and Alex, we all drove to Indian Wells to get ready for a game a day later. But these weeks push you forward, give you the confidence that you can get things done. So I think it’s really nice, especially with my team, to remember the great work that we’ve done.”
However, it intends to shift into a higher gear in 2025. “My goal is to improve my ranking. I’m not looking at a small spectrum. I have to beat the best tennis players in the world who will be in the top 10. I have to start aiming extremely high if that’s what I want. Big things.” She doesn’t want to put a number on her goals, but “prioritizing bigger events” is one of her main goals. She has yet to get past the third round of a Grand Slam and one senses that this breakthrough is what Boulter craves.
The arranged calendar is such that the 2025 season actually starts this month in Australia. Boulter will fly out early to spend Christmas at De Minaur’s home in Sydney for the first time before potentially facing the Australian team in the United Cup. The Australian Open will be the first test of her individual goals in the new year. “I will aim much higher, we as a team have to be ambitious. I think that’s what drives me. I want to go all-in, put all my chips in.”