COURT OUT
Katie Boulter focuses on fitness for Wimbledon after upsetting Australian Open KO
UPSET Katie Boulter will focus on getting fit for Wimbledon after an “uncomfortable” Australian Open experience.
The Brit was extremely unhappy with her performance as she was bundled out of the first round 6-1 6-4 by Russian Daria Kasatkina on court 16 on the opening day.
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Injury and illness have been a common factor of Boulter’s past two years and only the generous protected ranking policy enabled her to compete in the Melbourne main draw.
The 24-year-old is determined to revive her career and slowly work her way up the WTA world rankings, focusing on the career high of 82 secured two years ago.
The Leicester player, who has dropped to 315th in the world due to her periods of inactivity, has drawn optimism from her displays in the pre-event warm-up tournaments.
She said: “I’m pretty disappointed. I felt like I never really got going.
“I felt quite uncomfortable out on the court. I put a lot of pressure on myself when really there was absolutely no need to.
“The conditions are slightly different, it felt heavier, the ball was bouncing higher and she has a different kind of swing to a lot of girls.
“I really struggled to get some rhythm and get into the match and compete. I’m pretty upset about it.
“I expect a lot of myself. I’m not always the kindest person to myself. But I had a great week last week and can take a lot of positives.”
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Boulter, who has yet to speak with GB captain Anne Keothavong about the Billie Jean King Cup, would love to earn her place properly at Wimbledon rather than use a wildcard.
The Wimbledon Championships were cancelled in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic but are set to go ahead this summer, potentially as a reduced-capacity event.
Boulter said: “Of course Wimbledon is my favourite tournament ever.
“We’re a long way away from it but it’s the highlight of my year.
“It’s something that I really hope that we can have on this year and I get a chance to play.
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“Hopefully I can build some momentum and keep playing weeks like last week and get to where I want to be and feel comfortable in the situations.
“Inthe last year with Covid-19 and everything else going on, it’s a little bit of a lottery.
“I haven’t fully decided where I’m going to play. I wanted to sit down after this tournament and map it out where I can and can’t go because of restrictions.”
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