"Maybe just get married, have babies": Martina Navratilova gives interesting suggestion to Katie Boulter after US Open first-round exit

Britain’s Katie Boulter had a disappointing outing at the US Open, where she was knocked out after losing in the first round to Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk in straight sets with a score of 6-4, 6-4. It was Boulter’s 15th defeat in 32 matches this year, which is a complete contrast to what she managed to produce last year, where she won 37 out of 59 matches.

The result also means that for the second consecutive year, Boulter has failed to get past the second round of any Grand Slam in the singles category. In the first three Grand Slams, Boulter was knocked out after losing in the second round.

Boulter was a point of discussion in a recent debate on Sky Sports, where all the pundits had interesting views about what the 29-year-old should do moving forward. Former world number 40 Ryan Harris was of the opinion that Boulter must be looking to finish the season on a high.

“If you’re Katie Boulter, you’ve got to try and do everything you can to finish the season strong,” said Harris. “As you said, she’s been struggling for form a little bit, she’s going to have to get some matches in, she’s going to have to get that match count up as we look at the last third of the season.”

Former world number one Martina Navratilova, however, had an interesting suggestion. Navratilova jokingly suggested that Boulter should consider retiring and having kids. “Or maybe just get married, have babies, and be done with it. No more stress,” Navratilova laughed. Harris was quick to point out that having kids will not mean less stress. “You said no more stress. That’s no more tennis stress, right? Because you have a little baby running around, it’s a different sort of stress,” said Harris.

Talking ahead of the competition, Boulter stated that even though the results did not go her way in the season, she believed in being in a better place. “I really feel like I regrouped and started building again,” said Boulter back then. “And I feel like I'm in a much better place even than I was on the grass now. I kind of found myself again, which is really important. So it's exciting because I feel like I'm me again.”

Last year, in an interview with Sky Sports, Boulter outlined her objectives for the 2025 season. Boulter highlighted that her desire to get better has helped her stay motivated. "A pivotal point for me was knowing I could get through a full season and the work that I've been putting in has been paying off," said Boulter back in December last year. "I've been working so hard on a daily basis to put myself in that position and for it to actually come through and not have any injuries, I think that's full credit to my team. I think tennis is one of those sports where you're always aiming for something else no matter how well your season goes. I've had one of my best career seasons on paper but there's so much I want to improve. Even though it's frustrating, I'm never going to be satisfied, so it keeps me motivated."

Earlier this year, while speaking to British media outlet The Independent, Boulter stated that despite the heartbreaks, especially after losing in the second round of Wimbledon at home, she remains optimistic that her time will come.

“The season is very much non-stop,” said Boulter. “No one ever gets a break. At the end of the season a lot of people start dropping like flies. I was able to push on and then finish my year really strong, which helped massively. Mentally, it was a milestone for me, because I managed to push through a lot of tough, tough moments out there.” “I think it’s very easy to get wrapped up in losses. You lose over 50 per cent of the time. The best in the world lose 50 per cent of the time. But I think what I meant by that [comment] was, I keep putting myself in positions where I feel like I can go far. I have to take the positives where I actually beat a top 10 player on Centre Court. I think it’s just, playing more matches and getting myself more into those positions, and my time will come, and I have to believe that.”