MELBOURNE — Katie Boulter has a title no one wants to hold.
After defeat to Veronika Kudermetova at the Australian Open, the British No 1 is now the highest ranked player in the world never to have reached the fourth round of a grand slam.
Boulter, 28, has been a seed at the last four slams, affording her a draw protected from other top-32 players in the early rounds, but has only managed to win three matches. Her four defeats have come against players with an average ranking of 97.
Kudermetova, who has been ranked as high as No 9 in the world, is probably the least disappointing conqueror, but the Brit was nevertheless “gutted” not to have taken advantage of what looked, on paper, like a soft draw.
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Read More“I had a bad day at the office,” Boulter said.
“My level, when I think back to it over these last three weeks, has been above my normal level for a long period of time now.
“If I keep putting that in every single day, then I know I’m going to have my moment. Whether it’s today, whether it’s in a year, whether it’s the end of this year, whether it’s the middle of the year, I cannot tell you.
“But one thing I can assure you is I’m going to keep showing up.”
So what does Boulter need to do to break the hoodoo that grand slam tennis seems to have over here?
For almost her whole career, Boulter’s goal has been to stay healthy for a whole season. She did that last year, playing 26 tournaments over the 2024 season and making the most of her schedule outside the majors to earn enough points for a seeded spot.
She has had two proper pre-seasons working with Matt Little, the man widely credited with transforming Andy Murray from a pasty teenager into the fastest and fittest man on tour. The strength and conditioning expert says they went to “dark places” during their time together, which included a stint in southern Spain.
But Boulter’s on-court movement and explosiveness is still lacking – which is perhaps not surprising, because in many ways she is years behind the curve. As well as a spinal stress fracture in 2019 which enforced a lengthy lay-off, she was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome as a teenager.
Tactics in big moments
Boulter’s game is based on power. She is tall with easy power that is often enough to win matches, but she lacks an effective Plan B. Her record on the slower surfaces like clay is poor, because she has not necessarily developed enough different ways to win a match.
Her tour successes have instead come at events where conditions mean her “first strike”, either a powerful serve or a big forehand, is enough – and she does not need to construct points in the same way: her two titles came on a fast hard court in San Diego and a grass court in Nottingham.
And Boulter herself admitted against Kudermetova she had not played well enough on break point, only converting two of seven opportunities and failing to save a single one of the five against her.
“[There was] the odd point here or there where I tried to be a little bit safe, especially there was one breakpoint that I wasn’t that smart with my tactics. I went to her backhand, and she hit a good backhand line,” Boulter said.
“It could have changed the match and I’m very well aware of that.”
Against Harriet Dart too at Wimbledon last year, along with the US Open defeat to world No 74 Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, she could be accused of being too passive tactically – but increased aggression comes with its own risks.
“It’s always trying to get the balance between the control and aggression,” said former world No 4 and Eurosport expert Tim Henman this week.
“When she’s on, she can hit winners from anywhere. But sometimes she takes the ball early and hits the higher part of the net and that’s where the unforced error count rises. It’s a case of being patient and taking the winner on.”
Mental resilience
It’s not easy in the moments of highest pressure, but there is clarity of thought has often seemed to be lacking in Boulter’s game.
Against Dart at last year, Boulter led 6-2 in the deciding tie-break when Dart burst into tears at the back of the court. It seemed to have an effect at the other end of the court: Boulter won just two more points and lost the match against a lifelong rival in her home grand slam.
And in the biggest matches of her career – her three third-round matches at majors – she has rarely produced her best tennis, winning just 11 games across six sets of tennis.
None of this is unresolvable or ineffable, but will require hard work, something to which Boulter is no stranger.
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