Katie Boulter is throwing herself into the new WTA 500 event at Queen’s this coming week, entering both the singles and doubles draws. The British No. 1 has always wanted to join forces with Emma Raducanu, and the pair will form an exciting partnership for their home tournament.
Ahead of their first outing on the doubles court, Boulter explained how they finally managed to join forces and shared her excitement to be playing at the prestigious west London club, a venue she has watched her boyfriend, ATP star Alex de Minaur, compete in multiple times.
WTA tennis is back in London for the first time in 50 years and there may not be a player in the draw as excited as Boulter, who has always wanted the opportunity to compete at the Queen’s Club, which has long staged an ATP 500 tournament.
And it seems all of the 28-year-old’s wishes are being granted this week. Not only is she playing on the hallowed grass courts, she has also entered the doubles draw with Raducanu – something that’s been a long time coming.
“Myself and Emma, we’ve been wanting to play for a while now, I think we’ve talked about it a lot of times, and unfortunately, it just hasn’t quite happened for various reasons,” the world No. 38 said on Sunday.
“I think first week on the grass to get a couple more matches is super important, and I think we were actually here at Queen’s practising on the clay and we decided we thought we’d come back and play on the grass together.
“It will be extremely special, obviously. She’s a great player and looking forward to having the first and many more.”
That’s not the only thing Boulter is looking forward to during her time at Queen’s. The tennis tour is a gruelling, 11-month-long circuit, and players have few opportunities to stop at home, so the British No. 1 is relishing the little things.
She added: “Obviously being at home is the best part of the year for me. I love being here, I get to sleep in my own bed, which really doesn’t happen often, and make myself breakfast in the morning, which sometimes counts for so much.”
Most importantly, at long last, Boulter will have the opportunity to tussle on the centre court at the Queen’s Club, renamed the Andy Murray Arena in honour of the retired British tennis icon.
She continued: “I’ve obviously come here quite a bit watching tennis and I’ve got some really good memories of coming and sitting and watching Alex the last few years.
“And I’ve actually always said to myself, I wish there was a women’s event here, I wish I got the chance to play on this court, because you can feel the history and you can feel how incredible it is.
“I’ve seen this court packed and obviously it’s bigger this year, so I think that’s going to be a really interesting moment for me, because I think I’m going to feel a lot of support from the British crowd as well, and I’m going to get all of the emotions I think come out at that point.”
Boulter has one other unique wish she hopes will be granted at Queen’s. Former British No. 1 Laura Robson is the tournament director for the new event and previously held this role at the WTA 250 in Nottingham, which Boulter won two years on the trot.
“Laura and I have a record of two for two tournaments, which is two Nottinghams and two wins, so I mean, if I live up to that expectation this week, I’ll be very happy!” she laughed.