Katie Boulter is hopeful she can rediscover her best form and return to the top of the WTA Tour this year with the help of Maria Sharapova’s former coach Michael Joyce.
Boulter chose to part ways with her previous long-time coach, Biljana Veselinovic, late last year after an incredibly difficult season that saw her fall from career No. 23 at the end of 2024 to her current ranking of No. 113.
She quickly hired Joyce, a former player who has worked with Johanna Konta, Jessica Pegula, Victoria Azarenka and Eugenie Bouchard, with his most recent partnership a four-year tenure with Ashlyn Krueger.
“Personally, I always really liked him,” Boulter said. “I thought he did really well with a lot of the other players… Jessie, Ashlyn. I feel like he’s been on tour for a long time. He’s someone I didn’t get to know that well until I spent time with him on the court, and I really like his style.”
“I feel like things are going well at the moment. I think we’re all quite calm, which helps a lot because I have that energy around me, which is important for me as a tennis player.”
For a long time it seemed as if Boulter would have to enter the qualifying tournament for the Australian Open and fight his way through three rounds to reach the main draw. She had been the highest ranked player on the qualifying list on Sunday, the day of the qualifying draw, and she learned that she had not made it into the main draw until the draw was announced. “Saturday and Sunday were quite stressful, to be completely honest,” she said.
Boulter, who will marry her fiancé, Alex de Minaur, this year, said her upcoming wedding ensured that 2026 would be one of the best years of her life and that thought had given her positive energy for her career. “I’m getting married this year,” she said. “It will be an incredible year, one of the best of my life, no matter what happens on the tennis court.
“I think that has already given me a positive impetus. I feel like having a new coach, a new set-up, everything is fresh and exciting again. While I feel like I was dragging a bit at the end of last year, just to get through the whole year without injuries.”
In Jack Draper’s absence, Cameron Norrie will be the highest-ranked British player at a grand slam tournament, another milestone in the continuation of a resurgent 2025 season that saw him rise from No. 91 in the ATP rankings to his current position of No. 26, reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals and even beat No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz at the Paris Masters.
Norrie said: “It definitely looked difficult at one point in the year, but we made some good changes with my team. I think I was able to build a lot of momentum throughout the summer. There were a lot of obstacles, as always, but I was able to play my best tennis in some really big matches and also in some grand slam deep runs, which helped.
“Then to end the year, especially indoors where normally I haven’t really had the best results, it was huge to beat a world number 1 like Alcaraz in the Masters 1000. And to back it up again the following week in a 250 and beat a lot of players I was very close to in the rankings.”
Norrie, the 26th seed, will start against Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi. But the luck that allowed Boulter to reach the main draw did not last when the names were announced as she will face in-form 10th seed Belinda Bencic, who won all five of her singles matches at the United Cup, including against Iga Swiatek.
Boulter said, “For me, it’s another opportunity. I’m just going to go out there and swing. I really don’t think there’s any pressure. I don’t think there’s anyone in this room that thinks I’m going to win that match. So I’m excited about it.”
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