Britain’s new female number one tennis ace Katie Boulter reveals who inspired her to get to the top
SHE is Britain’s big hope at Wimbledon – but Katie Boulter is already winning at life.
At 26, she is worth an estimated £2million thanks to deals with Nike, Wilson, Jaguar and Airbnb after racing up the rankings to become the UK’s No1 player.
Katie Boulter is Britain’s new number one after rising up the rankings and she already has a small fortune
Katiehas brand deals with Nike and Jaguar and has been on the front cover of TatlerRex
Katie has become the 18th ranked female tennis star in the worldinstagram
Ahead of her return to SW19 next week as a wildcard, she has graced the pages of Vogue and was last week splashed across the front cover of Tatler.
And Katie happens to be one half of tennis’s version of Posh and Becks, dating Australian professional Alex de Minaur.
But the steely ace, who replaces injured Emma Raducanu as Britain’s No1 female player, is unlikely to be distracted by fame or let her personal life get in the way of the tennis.
She even took time off social media earlier this year to concentrate on her game — a move many emerging stars would never contemplate.
After her Tatler shoot, wearing Ralph Lauren, she said: “We can always get lost in tennis and I spend my life in sweats and working my a*** off, and I think it’s sometimes nice to completely switch off and do something totally different.
“I would like to say that I am quite grounded with this stuff. No matter what I am going to do I am going to be working hard, day in, day out.
“I don’t want to get wrapped up in spending too much time off the court, doing other commitments. I want to stay focused. There is a reason why I deleted social media for a while.”
Katie could follow in the footsteps of Emma Raducanu, 20, who is worth around £10million after securing a slew of endorsements with the likes of British Airways, Evian, Dior, Tiffany’s and Vodafone.
Emma, who will be missing from this year’s Wimbledon after having wrist and ankle surgery, has dropped to 128th in the world rankings.
Last month she spoke of her brutal time on the tennis tour, admitting that she sometimes wishes she had never won the 2021 US Open.
Emma said she was “extremely naive” and after her historic victory she was used like a ”piggy bank” by “sharks” in the tennis world.
She revealed: “The tour and everything that comes with it, it’s not a very nice, trusting and safe space. You have to be on guard because there are a lot of sharks out there.”
As Emma recovers, Katie says she is in awe of the younger player.
She told Tatler: “If we didn’t have Emma then I don’t think these (other British) girls would be pushing through and I’ve taken a lot of inspiration from her. What she did was absolutely incredible and I don’t think it’ll ever be emulated.”
Katie and Alex — ranked 18th in the world — are being touted as tennis’s new “It” couple in the mould of Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf.
Katie became Britain’s No1 after making the semi-finals of Wimbledon warm-up the Surbiton Trophy last month, then shot further up the world rankings by winning the Nottingham Open the next week and is now No88.
After Nottingham, she posted an Instagram picture of herself holding up the trophy, prompting her boyfriend to comment: “Not too sure what’s more impressive, the title or the biceps.”
The couple got together three years ago in Australia with Katie saying: “On the tennis tour you see a lot of people but you don’t necessarily know them.
“Alex asked me out and that was the end for me. I think we’re pretty much the same person.”
They both competed at Wimbledon last year after she was given a wildcard and managed to beat former runner-up Karolina Pliskova.
She dedicated the win to her grandmother Jill, who died aged 83 just two days before the match.
Alex praised Katie in his post-match Wimbledon interview, asking: “Can we just talk about Katie Boulter? I mean she had a pretty good win herself.”
But Katie had previously written off dating fellow pros after a bad experience.
She said: “I dated a tennis player — I learned a lot from it. I swore I would never date another tennis player . . . and I ended up dating another tennis player.
“And I am so glad I did. I wouldn’t change it for the world.” Raised by a single mum, Katie started playing tennis aged three on local courts behind the village hall near her home in Woodhouse Eaves, Leics.
She was motivated by beating her older brother James, now 30 and working in public relations.
Katie said: “It was the only thing I could eventually beat him in. That felt great.”
Katie is dating fellow tennis star, Aussie ace Alex de MinaurInstagram/@katiecboulter
Paul EdwardsKatie has overtaken Emma Raducanu as Britain’s female number one[/caption]
Incredible fightback
She represented Great Britain in junior championships at eight, took part in the Italian kids’ Lemon Bowl tournament aged 11 and made the finals of Florida’s Junior Orange Bowl at 14.
It was then her family moved to the capital so she could train at the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton, South West London.
It was there that she worked with people including coach Nigel Sears, who trained Serbian ace Ana Ivanovic, and the former British men’s No1, Jeremy Bates.
Jeremy said of Katie: “You never know how a good junior is going to fare in the senior ranks, but I immediately saw some promising signs with Katie.
“She clearly loved tennis and was a really good competitor. I didn’t have to bring any motivation — she brought it all.
“She was an aggressive player, even when she was young.”
Instagram/jamesgboulterKatie’s brother James played tennis with her when she was younger[/caption]
It would appear tennis is in Katie’s blood, as her mum Sue and grandmother Jill were both county tennis players.
Her grandfather Brian Gartshore, who attends almost all her matches, invented anti-theft tags for clothes shops.
Katie’s Instagram is full of pictures of her with Brian at dinners, watching Leicester City together and going for country walks.
“They sit alongside snaps of her showing off her fashion prowess and attending tennis tournaments.
But success has not come easy. In 2014 she developed chronic fatigue syndrome after contracting a virus on a trip to India.
Katie said: “I got to the point where I was pretty much doing nothing during the day.
“I was in bed. I would go for walks — that was my daily activity.”
She got back on court in April 2019 and broke into the world’s top 100 but suffered a spinal stress fracture. Then Covid hit.
By the end of the year she was down at No365 in the rankings.
But her incredible fightback has shown the mettle that could enable her to win big at Wimbledon.
She said: “One thing I can guarantee is that, no matter what is thrown in my direction, I’m a fighter and I’ll get there eventually.”
Game, set and match to Boulter.
Five other Brits to watch
Brit legend Andy Murray is back for another crack at Wimbledon 10 years after he won itRex
Andy Murray: The former men’s world No1 and the current British No4 will face compatriot Ryan Peniston in the first round.
The Scot, 36, has won 46 singles titles, including three Grand Slams, 14 Masters, and two Olympic gold medals – making him Britain’s most successful tennis player of the Open era.
In 2013, he became the first British male to win Wimbledon since Fred Perry in the 1930s, beating Novak Djokovic.
Cameron Norrie: Born in South Africa, and originally representing New Zealand, 27-year-old Cam switched his nationality in May 2013 before becoming British No1 in October 2021.
He has won five ATP Tour singles titles and one doubles title, but not yet a Grand Slam.
Jon Bon Jovi is rumoured to be planning a visit to SW19 in support of Cam, as his girlfriend Louise Jacobi’s folks are friends with the US rocker’s family.
Dan Evans: The current British No2 and World No25 has admitted he is not looking forward to playing at Wimbledon.
Having lost six of his last seven matches, Dan has slammed his form as “embarrassing” and recently split with coach Sebastian Prieto.
He has never gone beyond the third round at Wimbledon, losing at that stage on three occasions.
Dan, 33, recently said: “I’m not looking forward to playing any tennis at the minute.”
Harriet Dart: Being friends and rivals with Katie is hard for the 26-year-old Londoner, who lost to the British No1 in Nottingham last month.
Harriet said: “She’s such a tough competitor. I knew it was going to be an absolute battle.”
In March last year she entered the WTA top 100 for the first time. Her wins include four singles titles on the ITF Women’s Circuit.
Heather Watson: The former UK No1’s mixed-doubles victory with Henri Kontinen at Wimbledon in 2016 made her the first British woman to win a major title since Jo Durie in 1991.
Her 2012 triumph at the Japan Women’s Open gave Britain its first women’s singles title at a WTA tournament in 24 years.
Heather, 31, plays the Czech Republic’s Barbora Krejcikova in the first round of Wimbledon.
