THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

July 4, 2024

Katie Boulter

Press Conference

H. DART/K. Boulter

4-6, 6-1, 7-6

THE MODERATOR: Katie, big battle out there. Just give us your thoughts.

KATIE BOULTER: Yeah, super tough match. Obviously not the way that I wanted it to go. But full credit to her, she played better than me on the day, and that's what counts.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. You just didn't seem to quite be able to find your rhythm out there. Is that how it felt?

KATIE BOULTER: Yeah, look, it's very difficult having played someone in the first round who doesn't give you any rhythm. Then you're playing someone completely different, the complete opposite.

I just had a tough day at the office. Not my best tennis today unfortunately. But it's what happens sometimes. I've just got to take it on the chin. She played well. It is what it is.

Q. How gusty was it on court? 75 unforced errors, many of them were long rather than wide or in the net, suggests perhaps it was more windy than what we realized.

KATIE BOULTER: I don't know. I think it was pretty windy.

But look, I mean, it just didn't come off the racquet today. I think there are some days when you commit to your shots and they go in. That's been my tennis a lot of recent. Today wasn't quite that day. I don't know whether it was down to wind, just a bit of everything. I'm not entirely sure.

I am human. I had a tough day.

Q. Harriet was fighting tears on court. I don't know if you noticed that. How off-putting is that?

KATIE BOULTER: I mean, I don't know. I actually didn't notice. I try not to look too much.

Q. Various inferences in the last 24, 36 hours since we knew you were playing each other that you're not the best of friends. You've known each other since you were 11 or 12 years old. Can you explain how difficult it is to play someone you know so well, irrespective of whether you get on with them.

KATIE BOULTER: Look, we're Billie Jean King Cup teammates. We've been through this long journey together. I wish her the very best. I hope she goes far in this tournament.

Q. You had Alex watching you today. Having a boyfriend who's in the sport, doing well in the tournament, how does it help to come back from a disappointment like this? How do you deal with that kind of disappointment together?

KATIE BOULTER: Look, one match doesn't define my career. That's the first thing he said to me when I got off the court. He knows what he's talking about. It's not his first rodeo. He's been through it all before. I'm lucky to have that support.

Q. It is just a match, as you say. I know how much Wimbledon means to you. Does it feel in some ways like a little bit of a missed opportunity?

KATIE BOULTER: I wouldn't say a missed opportunity because she was better than me today. She beat me, so...

I don't feel like anything was a massive opportunity. This time next year I'm going to be a better player. It might be because of today, and I'm going to use that tough moment out there to really spur me on for the next few months.

Yeah, I mean, it wasn't a missed opportunity. It's tennis. You win some, you lose some. Today I lost. Made a lot of errors. But it is what it is.

Q. Quite a strong first set. What sort of changed in the second set that turned the match a little bit?

KATIE BOULTER: Yeah, I think I lost a bit of intensity. I don't really know. I'm going to look back on it a little bit more probably when I have time.

But I felt like I lost a bit of intensity and it wasn't quite the tennis that I've been playing, assured tennis that is my game, to go after each point.

At the same time, look, I'm an aggressive player. I'm not going to sit back and just make the court. It's not who I am and what I do. Irrespective of that, I'm going to lose a lot of tennis matches that way and I'm going to win a lot of tennis matches that way.

I think naturally it's obviously tough to take, but I'm going to come back better and improve.

Q. At 6-2 in the tiebreak, when Harriet took a little break at the back of the court, you stepped to the baseline and then stepped back again. Did that break your rhythm at all?

KATIE BOULTER: No, I wouldn't say so. I think she kind of just relaxed a little bit. She was 6-2 down. She's got nothing to lose at that point. I think I played into her strengths at that point as well, thinking back on it.

At the end of the day, it's a match that I don't think I did that much wrong at 6-2 in the tiebreak. I don't think that's why I lost the match. I think there are a few other things that I can improve on in those moments.

Look, I mean, I've been playing some of the best tennis that I've been playing. I've got another title a couple weeks ago. It's not like there's much wrong with my tennis. It's just on the day, I didn't have the best one. We all go to the office sometimes and don't have good days. That was just me today.

Q. How much will you be using this, the loss, to kind of propel you for the next challenge coming up, the Olympics in particular?

KATIE BOULTER: Yeah, I think I'll be using it for a long time coming up. I think that's a great thing in a way. It's always good to have motivation 'cause that's what defines you as a person. You're going to get better and better. I'm going to work harder and harder.

These are the kind of losses that sting a little bit. They do. There's no other way to put it. I'm going to use it. I'm going to come back stronger and hopefully be winning a lot more matches here next year.

Q. On the Olympics. Normally there's a bit of a break after Wimbledon. Not this year. How exciting is it to have that to look forward to?

KATIE BOULTER: Yeah, I am looking forward to that. That is something that I have wanted to tick off since I was a little girl.

Yeah, I cannot wait for it. I'm going to soak it all in. Hev is going to be with me, which is super exciting for me. I'm sure she's going to pick me right up and we're going to have a fantastic time at the Olympics.

I don't lose any chance to represent. That's going to be a special one for me.