HSBC CHAMPIONSHIPS

June 13, 2026

Katie Boulter

Queens Club

Press Conference

D. VEKIC/K. Boulter

6-1, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Hard luck, Katie. I know it was a quick turnaround from yesterday. Donna is very tricky on this surface. What was your overall assessment of today's match?

KATIE BOULTER: My overall assessment today, I mean, she played a very good match today. I mean, I don't think many people realize how good she hits the ball. She's so clean on every stroke. She didn't really give me a look in.

I also think my physicality wasn't enough today to stay in the rallies and do what was required. I mean, I think she played a great match, and she's obviously high on confidence, as well.

I think, you know, fair credit to her. I think I did the very best that I can, and yeah, unfortunately, it wasn't enough.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. After such a great win yesterday, was it difficult to get yourself back up for this one, given the short turnaround that you had?

KATIE BOULTER: I don't think it was really about necessarily getting myself back up for it. I mean, yesterday took its toll. I mean, about a week and a half ago, I sat on the couch, not hitting any tennis balls, and I was exhausted and sick.

So I think, for me, you know, as I said at the very start of this tournament, I feel underprepared coming into the tournament. I didn't feel like I'd got enough reps in on the court. I think I've done a tremendous job, considering, to play two matches yesterday, and also just get up and go again today. Obviously really quick turnaround for me.

Physically, it clearly wasn't enough. You know, I think that is a question that I will go back to my team and I will ask the question what we could have done better. I don't think there is much that we could have done better, to be completely honest. I think I gave everything that I had with the circumstances that I have had the last two weeks.

Look, I mean, one thing I know for sure is that when I feel physically great, I'm playing some of the best tennis that I have ever played, and I have to take confidence in that.

Q. Tough luck today. Obviously last night was very late and probably a lot of adrenaline. So just talk us through what you did from when we saw you last night to coming out on court today.

KATIE BOULTER: Yeah, of course, for me there is so many emotions that are going on, first of all, not to mention just last night. I mean, I played first on yesterday, I had a six-hour break, which I had to obviously keep mentally very on at the same time as finding a way to switch off and keep my brain slightly more relaxed, as well, which is not easy to do in its own right.

And then, in the evening, obviously played that match, which was a grueling match. So much adrenaline. Yeah, a great win for me, gave me a load of confidence, but since that point, I spent probably, like, an hour and a half, two hours on the treatment table, ate as much food as I could, tried to get as much sleep as I could. Obviously it wasn't quite enough.

Yeah, I mean, since then, I have probably had treatment three or four hours of -- yeah, I have done as much as I possibly could with everything that I had and the timings. Obviously, yeah, really not many hours in the day, not enough hours in the day for me. I needed more.

Yeah, it is what it is, but I did the best.

Q. Tough luck today, but looking back, is it still an amazing week, especially for British tennis, to get to the semifinal, and Emma be there, as well?

KATIE BOULTER: Yeah. I mean, look, I'm currently ranked 70 in the world. I am not supposed to make semifinals of this tournament. If you look at the lineup, we had an incredible lineup.

I think, you know, someone like Emma, she's an incredible player. We all know that. You know, I personally expect her to be at the back end of these tournaments. I have high regard for her. I think she should be there, and I think she's a great grass court player, as well, and I think she's got a great shot at winning it, obviously as long as her body is great.

For me, yeah, what a fantastic week for both of us so far. I really hope she can go on and win the title. I'll be rooting for her all the way.

Yeah, what a great start to the first week on grass, having two British semifinalists. This is the one week in the grass season, obviously aside from Wimbledon, I really wanted to make a mark in. I love Nottingham. I love Eastbourne. Those tournaments are very close to my heart, but this was the one that I wanted this year.

I feel like I gave it my best go, and yeah, I mean, it really just gives me the belief that I can come back here and win it one day.

Q. In terms of your performance, an incredible run to the semifinals, how much confidence does that give you for the rest of the grass court season? Like you say, with Nottingham coming up, another opportunity for you to go really deep into that tournament.

KATIE BOULTER: Yeah, I mean, look, as I said, I'm really patient with myself. I think that's something that, I don't know, I work hard at. I'm not normally a patient person, but for me on the tennis court, I have to be. I don't have enough choice. I'm not someone who was 15 winning Grand Slams. I have been it for the long run.

So the weeks for me that are really important are the weeks backing up to tournaments like this. I think, you know, trying to get momentum and going into the bigger tournaments is really important. You know, next week in Eastbourne, I think they're great tournaments for me to get more match wins and very important for me.

However, I already feel prepared. I feel prepared having gotten some great matches this week. No matter what happens in the other weeks, I feel like mentally I'm in a really good place.

I feel like my game is moving in the right direction. I think as long as I play the way that I'm trying to play, that's what's going to give me the confidence, not necessarily like the number of wins or the number of tournaments, but for my ranking, I need that. Ultimately, my goal is to get back up to where I was and surpass that, but I need to be doing well consistently for that to happen, and they're great opportunities to do that, as long as my body is feeling good.

Q. Queen's is probably the biggest tennis tournament in this country apart from Wimbledon, of course. What learnings can you take from this week in terms of handling that bright spotlight, going into Wimbledon where the spotlight will be even bigger?

KATIE BOULTER: Yeah, I think over my many years of my career, I think it's something that's been, like, a work in progress. I mean, I already came off the court, and I said to my team that I feel like I have to find a way to do a better job and give myself more energy.

Going into a match like today after yesterday, I know it's a really unique situation where you're playing two matches in one day, and I have been sick the week before. Like, it's not something that's going to repeatedly happen, but for me, I really want to improve in that area. I want to improve in backing up my wins.

I need to start doing that. Obviously yesterday was a great win for me, a top-10 player, top-5 player, but I need to be able to do that repeatedly to be able to do that at the big tournaments.

So I think a lot of it is about consistency, not necessarily working on handling the pressure as such. I think it's about getting my body to a place that I can consistently produce the same level every single day for two weeks.

That, for me, is the most important thing, and that helps me deal with the pressure, because I feel like I know I can repeat that back to back. Whereas at the moment, I think I can do it for a few days, but then there's always going to be one day that I'm struggling physically, and that's not going to help me. I think my game relies so much on physicality. I think that's important for me.

Look, this week has been a great learning curve for me. I think it gave me a lot of belief knowing that I can beat a lot of good players on this surface, for sure. Yeah, Wimbledon is another opportunity to do that. Hopefully I can do it there too.

Q. You have touched on the word "rankings" a few times, and just looking at it, the live rankings have got you up at 56 now. With this grass court season, do you tend to think of a particular target that you would like to get to? The second part of the question is have you spoken to the other half? Because he's in the final over there.

KATIE BOULTER: I mean, first of all, key is incredible. That's the first thing that I did when I came off the court. I think we are both so good at supporting each other. No matter who wins and who loses, we're always there for each other.

Even if it was the other way around today, I know I would have gotten a text message like that. He's always supporting me; I'm always supporting him. He's got a great shot at another title again. I think I've forgotten how many he's won now. He's got a long roster. Yeah, just another great week for him. So, yeah, very proud of him, of course.

What was the other question, sorry?

Q. Ranking.

KATIE BOULTER: Oh, the ranking. For me, look, it's a difficult one, because I really try not to focus on rankings. I think if you get caught up in that situation, then you can sometimes lose sight of what you're trying to do, and progressing your game is the No. 1 thing that's going to increase your ranking.

The moment that you start playing afraid, that's when things start to go wrong. I think I started to do it last year. I wasn't quite happy with my level, and then all I was trying to do was to make points to keep myself at a certain height.

Yeah, I mean, it can be kind of like a hamster wheel. It can be a bad thing for me personally.

So, no, I'm trying not to look at the rankings. I know what my level is. Of course it gets you into tournaments, so I need to keep it as high as possible, but for me, I'm going to go back to the drawing board and work on my game and what I can improve on the game today, having played Donna, rather than thinking too much about rankings.

Yeah, I don't have a number in my mind. My goal is to get the best version of myself every single day, and that will lead to my results. So I believe that.

Q. Can you tell me a little bit about the effect of the crowds today? It feels like you can carry that maybe with you through the grass season and Wimbledon.

KATIE BOULTER: The crowds? Yeah, I mean, they were incredible. I got so many feelings that came out yesterday. I could hear them chanting. They were stomping, bringing such an incredible atmosphere to such a historic court.

It never gets taken for granted on my end. I really appreciate having people behind me. And being British, like, I'm a very patriotic person, to have that crowd is, yeah, I mean, it's what I dreamt of as a young girl, playing in front of a load of people. Especially on that court, as well.

You know, it's kudos to everyone for making it happen that we could have a WTA event here, because I've watched it for many years be a men's event. It is something I have dreamt of. I dreamt of winning this tournament.

Yeah, hopefully next year is going to be that one, but yeah, the crowd are some of the best we've had yet. I definitely will carry that.