“We’ll take it one week at a time”: Katie Boulter discusses whether Raducanu partnership could continue at Wimbledon

Katie Boulter is preparing for her return to the grass courts this Monday at the Queen’s Club Championships with a blockbuster clash against eighth seed Leylah Fernandez. The former British No. 1 will also have the luxury opportunity of playing doubles with Emma Raducanu to the delight of the home crowd, teaming up at the same tournament for a second consecutive year.

Boulter is looking to bounce back after a year in which she has lost positions in the rankings and faded somewhat from the spotlight, but grass could be the ideal stage for her to make headlines again.

Boulter started the season outside the top 100 after a gradual decline in the rankings throughout 2025. Some good results have allowed her to climb back up, but after the clay swing she sits only at world No. 73, still far away from the top-30 positions she occupied just a year ago.

At Queen’s she will face a tough challenge against Fernandez in singles this Monday – in a day heavily affected by rain – while on Tuesday she is expected to make her doubles debut alongside Raducanu, where they will face fourth seeds Shuai Zhang and Storm Hunter. “It’s a pleasure to be here a second year in a row,” Boulter said in press conference. “I’m really looking forward to getting going and starting my grass-court campaign.”

The partnership with Raducanu will surely be one of the highlights of the start of the grass swing, with the London crowd getting the chance to watch its two biggest WTA Tour names together once again. Back in 2025, they reached the quarter-finals before falling to top seeds Kichenok and Routliffe.

Boulter explained that both she and Raducanu are focused on singles, but that Queen’s appears to be the perfect opportunity to form a partnership that allows them to quickly gain more time on court on grass – while also giving the local fans something to enjoy – although she ruled out the possibility of repeating it at Wimbledon.

“I think Emma and I are very aligned with what we’re trying to do. I think we will take it one week at a time,” the former world No. 21 said. “For the moment, Queen’s is the perfect place for us to get some matches and some time on the grass and to pair up. I really enjoyed my time last year playing with her.”

“It was super fun, but we both really wanted to win and had one goal in mind,” Katie Boulter added, although she ruled out the possibility of the partnership being repeated at Wimbledon. “So I think just being back out there again this year and getting a bit more time on the grass is important to both of us, and we’ll go from there.”

On the other hand, the 29-year-old addressed the support that Alex de Minaur has represented throughout her career and how he has impacted the positive results she has achieved over the last few years.

Boulter spent most of her career away from the biggest stages, and it was not until 2023 – at the age of 26 – that she managed to break into the top 100 and shortly afterwards establish herself as a consistent top-30 player.

Unlike many other players, Boulter had a long road before becoming a protagonist on the WTA Tour and securing a place among the best players in the world. In that regard, the Brit gave credit to her boyfriend De Minaur – whom she is set to marry this year – as one of the reasons she was able to elevate her results.

“He is one of the many reasons I think I’ve done as well as I have in the last few years,” Boulter said. “We’ve been together six years and counting, so I think the impact that he’s had on my tennis has been astronomical for me personally.”

“He is such a great sounding board. He reads the game. He’s one of the best in the world, so of course having that insight, for me as someone who’s still coming up the ranks, is so important.”

“I can always talk to him about what I need to, and he always gives me advice. For me, it’s as good as it gets. I’m so lucky to have him in my life, and that’s just the tennis side of things. I’m not going to go into the mushy stuff and continue on the other side. But he’s been a massive impact for me, and I definitely know I wouldn’t be in the position I am now without him.”