Katie Charlotte Boulter (born 1 August 1996) is a British professional tennis player and currently the British No. 1 in women's singles. On 4 November 2024, she reached her best singles ranking of world No. 23. On 4 November 2024, she peaked at No. 282 in the WTA doubles rankings.[1]
She has won three singles titles on the WTA Tour as well as seven singles titles and four doubles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit.
Boulter was born in Woodhouse Eaves, Leicestershire,[4][5] the second of two children to David and Susan (née Gartshore) and has an older brother, James. Boulter's mother, Susan, played tennis at county level and represented Great Britain a few times as a junior. Boulter's maternal grandmother, Gill Gartshore (née Dran), was also a county champion tennis player.
Boulter herself started playing tennis aged 5,[3] and went on to represent Great Britain three years later, aged 8.[3] She has said that when she was younger, beating her older brother was a motivating factor. "We used to practise together at this local court down the road from our house. It was the only thing I could eventually beat him in, so that felt great."[6]
Boulter played the piano before her tennis career began to take precedence. She also has an interest in fashion and made an appearance in Vogue magazine in 2018.[7]
Career
2008–2013: Steady rise
Following in the path of Anna Kournikova, Boulter showed promise in 2008 when she won the Lemon Bowl in Rome, aged 11.[8] She went on in 2011, aged 14, to become a finalist in the Junior Orange Bowl Tennis Championships in Coral Gables, Florida.[9] Past finalists have included Andy Murray and Caroline Wozniacki. She was awarded the Aegon Junior Player Award that month.[10]
Boulter claimed her first senior doubles title at a $10k event in Sharm El Sheikh in November 2013.[11]
2014: Doubles success, first senior singles title
In January 2014, Boulter went on to have further doubles success and was a finalist at the Australian Open girls' doubles event with Ivana Jorović.[12][13][14] In May 2014, in Sharm El Sheikh, Boulter won her first senior singles title over fellow Briton Eden Silva. She also won the doubles title at the same event partnering Nina Stojanović, to whom she had lost a previous final in singles.[15] A month later, Boulter was given a wild card for Wimbledon qualifying, losing in the first round to Italian Alberta Brianti in a three-set match which lasted two-and-a-half hours.[16]
2018: 2nd round at Wimbledon, first WTA Tour quarterfinal
Boulter won her first $25k singles title at the event in Óbidos, Portugal in April.[17] In May, she won a further singles title at the $60k event in Fukuoka, Japan.[18] She received a wild card for the Nottingham Open,[19] going on to reach her first WTA Tour quarterfinal with a run which included a win over former US Open champion Samantha Stosur.[20] In July, Boulter received a wildcard into the $100k grass-court event in Southsea, England, where she reached the final and fell to Kirsten Flipkens.[21]
She then received a wildcard into the Wimbledon main draw, where she won her first-round match over Verónica Cepede Royg.[22] She lost in the second round to Naomi Osaka in straight sets.[23]
2019: Australian Open first win
Boulter began the 2019 season in Hobart, Tasmania where she did not qualify, losing to Greet Minnen in three sets. Her next tournament was the Australian Open. She defeated Ekaterina Makarova, in three sets, with the first instance in the Australian Open of a third-set tiebreak, winning the tiebreak 10–6.
[24] However, her run ended in the second round with a straight-sets defeat by Aryna Sabalenka.[25]
At Wimbledon, Boulter again upset Plíšková in three sets to advance to the third round of a major for the first time in her career.[41] In round three, Boulter lost to Harmony Tan, in straight sets.[42]
2023: British No. 1, first career title, major 3rd rounds
Boulter became the British player No. 1 on 12 June 2023, following a semifinal showing at the Surbiton Trophy.[43] She reached the quarterfinals at the Nottingham Open as one of four British players for a historic first at a WTA event.[44] She went one step further to reach her first WTA Tour semifinal with a win over compatriot Harriet Dart.[45] She defeated another Briton, Heather Watson, to set up an all-British final with Jodie Burrage, the first since 1977.[46] As a result, she returned to the top 100 in the rankings at No. 77 on 19 June 2023.[47][48] She had won her first WTA Tour title, after defeating Burrage in the final.
She received a special exempt entry into the next UK tournament in Birmingham, but lost in the first round to Zhu Lin in straight sets.[49]
Boulter came through two rounds of qualifying to gain a place in the main draw of the Canadian Open in Montreal. She won her first-round match against Rebecca Marino,[54] but lost in round two to Coco Gauff.[55] This result improved Boulter's singles ranking to a career high of 60, on 14 August 2023.
At the US Open, she entered the main draw via her ranking for the first time in her career. In the first round, she defeated Diane Parry in straight sets for her first-ever main-draw win at Flushing Meadows,[56] and then beat Chinese player Wang Yafan, in three sets, in the second round.[57] Boulter lost to Peyton Stearns in round three, in two sets,[58] but reached a new career-high ranking of 50, on 11 September 2023.
In April, Boulter helped Great Britain to a 3–1 win in an away tie against France to make it into the Billie Jean King Cup finals. Having lost to Diane Parry 2–6, 0–6 on day one, Boulter defeated Clara Burel 7–5, 6–0 in the opening match of day two for what was her first Tour-level victory on clay.[72]
Boulter retained her Nottingham Open title in June, beating Emma Raducanu in the semifinals, and then Karolína Plíšková in the final on the same day at the tournament which was heavily affected by bad weather.[73][74]
For the first time in her career, Boulter was seeded in the singles at Wimbledon.[75][76] She defeated Tatjana Maria in two sets,[77] but then lost to fellow Briton Harriet Dart in the second round, 8–10 in the third set tiebreaker.[78]
Boulter lost in the first round of the singles at the Paris Olympics, going down in straight sets to Anna Karolína Schmiedlová.[79] Partnering Heather Watson, she reached the quarterfinals of the doubles, defeating sixth seeded Brazilian duo Beatriz Haddad Maia and Luisa Stefani in the second round,[80] before losing to third seeds and eventual gold medalists Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini from Italy.[81]
In her first tournament after the Olympics, Boulter reached the third round of the Canadian Open for the first time in her career with wins over Bernarda Pera[82] and 13th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia[83] to set up a meeting with second seed Aryna Sabalenka which she lost.[84]
At the Billie Jean King Cup finals in Spain, Boulter defeated Laura Siegemund in straight sets to seal Great Britain's first round win over Germany.[105] She then overcame Leylah Fernandez as Great Britain defeated defending champions Canada to reach the semifinals.[106][107] In their last four match against Slovakia, Boulter lost to Rebecca Šramková in three sets as Great Britain were defeated 2–1.[108]
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (P#) preliminary round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (Z#) Davis/Fed Cup Zonal Group (with number indication) or (PO) play-off; (G) gold, (S) silver or (B) bronze Olympic/Paralympic medal; (NMS) not a Masters tournament; (NTI) not a Tier I tournament; (P) postponed; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.
To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the player's participation has ended.
Only main-draw results in WTA Tour, Grand Slam tournaments, Billie Jean King Cup and Olympic Games are included in win–loss records.[113]
^Edition is split into the two years due to COVID-19.
^ abThe first Premier 5 event of the year has switched back and forth between the Dubai Tennis Championships and the Qatar Ladies Open since 2009 until 2024. Dubai was classified as a Premier 5 event from 2009 to 2011 before being succeeded by Doha for the 2012–2014 period. In 2015, Dubai regained its Premier 5 status while Doha was demoted to Premier status. The Premier 5 tournaments were reclassified as WTA 1000 tournaments in 2021.