HSBC CHAMPIONSHIPS

June 9, 2026

Katie Boulter

Queens Club

Press Conference

K. BOULTER/L. Fernandez

3-6, 7-6, 7-5

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Could you sum up your day today, both singles and doubles, the amount of tennis you played today?

KATIE BOULTER: Yeah, I mean, a really good day for me. I think I spent a lot of time on the grass courts, which is exactly what you want for a first day on grass. Very pleased to come through the singles. I think I responded extremely well to my match yesterday. I think it was very different conditions again and managed to play some really good stuff.

I think it's never easy in a first match in singles, and I think I played some promising stuff for the future. Yeah, I'm looking forward to the season. Hopefully getting some momentum this week.

Yeah, also really happy to get another couple hours out on the dubs court. I think it was fun to always play with Emma and against an incredible team. It was a great match.

Unfortunate to not come through with the win, but yeah, a good match.

Q. Down a break in the second set, what was going through your mind there and how did you get back into the match?

KATIE BOULTER: Yeah, I think when I lost that service game when I came back on the court, I actually don't think I played that bad of a game. I think I maybe hit one double fault, but she was putting so much pressure on me. I think, in my mind, I just wanted to go all in.

I think yesterday I sort of tried to ease my way into the match, and you can't do that on this surface. It just doesn't work. If you start second-guessing, you start pulling off and start trying to extend rallies, then the other person is just going to hit winners. They're too good to do that. Especially against the caliber of opponent I'm playing. I'm playing someone ranked 25, 30 in the world. Yeah, you just can't allow that to happen, so you have to take it to her.

I think the fact that I got broken actually probably helped me kind of go, Right, that's it. We're going for it. Even though that was my mindset going into the match, I think maybe just that break helped me loosen up a little bit and go for it even more.

Q. Is that something that you could potentially look at doing in match now, now that you know you've got that in your locker?

KATIE BOULTER: Yeah.

Q. It maybe takes a night, but you can make that adjustment in a bit of a quicker time?

KATIE BOULTER: Yeah, definitely. Every day is new, right? It's different conditions, different days. Some days you come out of bed and you feel amazing and other days you don't. But the mentality is what I want to keep.

I want to maintain that every time that I walk on the court. I want to be that aggressive player, but I also know that if it's not working on a given day, I want to have a Plan B.

I think for me that's my challenge to myself to continue playing that style of tennis, not to second-guess myself, and if I lose a match because I have gone for it, to be okay with it.

I think from a young age a lot of people always said to me don't be a charity, put the ball in the court. That's just not good enough at this level. You have to commit to the ball, you have to go after it, you have to make that happen.

Yeah, I will be challenging myself to continually do that no matter what the conditions.

Q. Beating a top-25 player, as well, what does that do for confidence levels?

KATIE BOULTER: I mean, look, it's great for me. She's an incredible player. I know how tough she is is on grass courts, as well. I know she can play some serious tennis.

She's also very tricky because the ball comes through very fast, and if you're not prepared for it like you saw yesterday, it definitely catches you by surprise.

For me to get that win today, I take a lot of confidence in that win. Obviously my next goal is to win another match, and it's a completely different opponent again. I'm going to have to prepare for that tomorrow.

Obviously today was a lefty, and in a couple of days it will be a righty, so I need to kind of adjust, as I have been practicing a lot with lefties, specifically for that match.

Yeah, I take a lot of growth in the fact that I've started off well. I've got the perfect start to my season, my first win on a grass court, and I build from there.

Q. I think I saw you in the stands for Serena's match? Why was it so important for you to witness her comeback? I saw you recording on your phone and everything with big smile.

KATIE BOULTER: Yeah. I mean, I'm like everyone here. She's the absolute GOAT. I grew up watching her, I admire her, I'm inspired by her. So why wouldn't I want to watch every minute that I possibly can?

I think I saw the schedule, and our doubles was sort of scheduled the same time, and I was a little bit devastated because I really wanted to see her go on and watch her match. But luckily, I managed to get a couple of games, so I was happy.

Q. You talked a little bit after your match about how it's difficult to go home in the middle of a match and prepare the next day. So what do you do in that gap? How do you keep your mind focused?

KATIE BOULTER: It's definitely an interesting situation that most people probably don't know what that feels like. I mean, I obviously replayed the match in my mind what I can do better.

I think the biggest thing is when you come from a match like that where things aren't going right, you're not playing the best that you possibly can, you need to adjust and expect a lot of yourself the next day and ask yourself to respond.

I think that I don't think I'm the best at dealing with that. I think when I go to sleep at night, you know, in the middle of a match, I feel quite unsettled. I don't think I feel comfortable. I think it's just me trying to deal with it the best that I can, and yeah, prepare the best that I can.

I don't think there is any right way of dealing with a situation like that. It's quite abnormal. You don't see it very often. But it can happen a lot in the grass court season, so I need to be mentally ready for everything.

Yeah, I'm proud of myself I did a great job with that today and preparing myself for a great week.