Katie Boulter happy to be starting all over again

When Katie Boulter last stepped off a tennis court in 2025, she looked haunted and scared and in a pain far beyond her torn abductor. It was late October in Hong Kong, and she had just retired hurt in the first round. She had won three tour-level matches since Wimbledon. A week later she split with her coach of three years, Biljana Veselinovic, having slipped from world No 23 in January to outside the top 100.

After two years as the British No 1 ended in June, she trailed Emma Raducanu, Sonay Kartal and Fran Jones. Perhaps the great contributor to her decline was the collapse of her serve – usually her greatest strength. Her second serve has always had moments of inconsistency, but her first rapidly followed it. Even in first-round Wimbledon victory over ninth-seed Paula Badosa, her finest performance of last year, at one stage she double-faulted three times in four points.

Having discussed the impacts of dealing with online abuse in June last year, she took a week off from practice after the Canadian Open in the summer and worked with a psychologist, admitting she had been over-training and was “mentally worn down”.

She needed a break, and her injury provided that, although her ranking of 113 meant she was outside the cut for the Australian Open and was set for qualifying until a drop-out provided a reprieve.

And on Friday, in a side room at Melbourne Park, Boulter sparkled, particularly when talking about her impending marriage to Australian world No 6 Alex de Minaur, which she said would make 2026 “one of the best [years] in my life, no matter what happens on the tennis court”. There was a tangible optimism throughout everything she said, and she spoke about the coming of the new year like an emotional purging.

“I see this as a full reset for me, I’m starting again,” Boulter said. “I’m not expecting miracles this week. I’m not expecting miracles next week. It’s going to be a process. Everything is fresh and exciting again.”

Part of this excitement comes from her new coach, Michael Joyce, who helped Maria Sharapova reach world No 1 before working with Johanna Konta, Victoria Azarenka and, most recently, Ashlyn Krueger. Although Boulter was knocked out of the ASB Classic last week by world No 12 Elina Svitolina, a straight-sets first-round win over Yuliia Starodubtseva in her first tournament alongside Joyce was cathartic and positive.

This will be an odd Australian Open from a British perspective, with Jack Draper’s injury meaning Cameron Norrie is the highest-ranked singles player at No 28. Raducanu’s 6-2, 6-4 defeat by wildcard Taylah Preston in the Hobart International quarter-finals – despite entering the tournament as the top seed – is concerning, and she is on course to meet Aryna Sabalenka in the third round.

And now 29, Boulter still has not made it past the third round at any Grand Slam. Drawn against Belinda Bencic – perhaps the form player in the game – in Melbourne, she said: “I don’t think anyone in this room thinks I’m going to win that match.” She is right, but you sense defeat would do little to dampen her belief she can return to the world’s top 30. It is not about next week, or the week after. She is happy again.

Photograph by Kelly Defina/Getty Images