Top News

Katie Boulter is feeling like herself again after attributing a difficult summer to overwork. The 29-year-old lost four matches in a row for the first time in four-and-a-half years before stopping the rot in Cleveland earlier this week.

Boulter pulled off one of the best wins of her career in the first round of Wimbledon against Paula Badosa but crashed out in round two to lucky loser Solana Sierra and went on to lose her opening matches at the WTA events in Washington, Montreal and Cincinnati.

She cited a hectic schedule over the past couple of years, including prioritising representing Britain at the Olympics and in the Billie Jean King Cup, for her struggles.

"The times that I should have had periods of break, I don't really feel like I chose myself," said Boulter. "I kind of chose other things bigger than myself. And I think that's why I ended up at this point a few weeks ago where I was struggling a bit.

"It's been a long couple of years. There's a lot of changes on tour. I probably was desperate for a break after Wimbledon. And the next day I was straight back in the gym and didn't allow myself to take that break."

Boulter gave herself some time off after Montreal and ended her losing run by beating Yue Yuan in Cleveland before heading to New York to prepare for the US Open, where she faces a tricky opener against 27th seed Marta Kostyuk.

Boulter has not been beyond the second round of a grand slam for two years but she is back in a positive frame of mind, saying: "I really feel like I regrouped and started building again.

"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."

Heading to Cleveland ended Boulter's chances of playing in the mixed doubles at Flushing Meadows with fiance Alex De Minaur, with the pair potentially in the running for a wild card.

"Obviously playing the mixed would have been one of the most fun things I could have possibly done," she said. "I hope we get another opportunity to play it."

Boulter is one of five British players who will contest their first-round matches on Tuesday along with Sonay Kartal, Fran Jones, Jacob Fearnley and Billy Harris.

Kartal is back on the grand slam stage for the first time since her run to the fourth round of Wimbledon and with a permanent reminder of her Centre Court debut on her right arm.

The tattoo enthusiast opted for a new design of a lightning bolt after walking out onto Wimbledon's main stage to take on Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in a thunderstorm.

"You ask any British kid that wants to be a tennis player, that's their dream to walk out onto Centre Court, so for me to have that moment happen and to achieve that goal, and then to have the thunder moment, I can look down on that and it takes me to that moment a little bit," said Kartal, who will face 18th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia.

The other British trio will also be making their main draw debuts - Fearnley against Spanish veteran Roberto Bautista Agut, qualifier Jones against German Eva Lys and Harris, who lost in qualifying but got in as a lucky loser, against 25th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime.