She’s been flying through the singles tournament but Katie Boulter is playing doubles both on and off the court with boyfriend Alex de Minaur.
Today is all about the British No 1’s third round match at Wimbledon against Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina, but yesterday she paired up with Alex, 24, to play mixed doubles... before heading home together.
Somewhat bravely, Katie and Aussie Alex, ranked No 17 in the world, are renting a house with their families not far from the All England Club.
She says: “We all get to spend a whole lot of time together. I have the option of popping out when I want to.
“I know where the closest coffee shop is so this is a place I can call home.”
Katie and Alex got together in March 2020 and went public on their first anniversary. She regularly shares snaps of them dressed up for dinner dates or on holiday in between their gruelling training schedules. “I couldn’t ask for any better, he’s the best support I’ve got,” Katie beamed to Tatler.
That is some praise given how close she is to her mum Sue and granddad Brian Gartshore, who she credits with getting to where she is today.
Born in Woodhouse Eaves near Loughborough, Leics, to talented tennis player and coach Sue, who played at county level and represented Great Britain, and encouraged by Brian, Katie took up the sport at the age of five.
She was raised in a single-parent household and has not mentioned her dad David publicly, but Sue and Brian - who invented anti-theft clothing tag, can usually be spotted cheering her on from the sidelines.
“He’s a very smart guy and he’s always been there for me, throughout everything,” she’s said of her grandad.
Her granny Jill, a geography teacher, died during Wimbledon last year. Katie broke down in tears on Centre Court after dedicating her winning match against Karolina Pliskova to Jill.
She said: “Her favourite tournament was Wimbledon, that’s why it’s a special one for me.”
Katie first represented GB aged eight, and won her first national title at the age of nine. Competing against her older brother James at the village tennis court spurred her on to improve.
“It was the only thing I could eventually beat him in, so that felt great,” she laughed.
Going professional meant sacrifices, but Katie was determined to make tennis her life. She left school at 12 but still managed to study for her exams, taking maths and economics A-level lessons over Skype. In 2013 she was escorted off the court at the French Open to take a three-hour GCSE geography exam.
“It’s a little bit hard doing it like that but it’s a sacrifice I’ve made,” Katie said at the time.
Her determination has paid off, having been coached by former British men’s No 1 Jeremy Bates from the age of 17 up until last year.
“You never quite know how a good junior is going to fare in the senior ranks,” said Jeremy, “but I immediately saw some promising signs with Katie. For a start, she clearly loved tennis and she was a really good competitor.
“She listened and took in information. I didn’t have to bring any motivation, she brought it all.
“But on the court she really went for it. She was an aggressive player, even when she was young. With the weapons she had with her serve and her forehand, there was clearly a lot of promise.”
She has also worked with Andy Murray ’s father-in-law Nigel Sears, and professional coach Mark Taylor. But it hasn’t all been smooth sailing. In 2019 Katie noticed some back twinges while playing in the Federation Cup, and had to pull out of the rest of the season with a spinal stress fracture.
As she regained momentum, a leg injury last year meant she had to retire from the WTA event in Lyon. She also battled chronic fatigue syndrome, taking a year out when she was 20 as she “struggled to live everyday life, let alone train”.
She’d first noticed symptoms in 2016 when she found it hard to get out of bed in the morning and felt lethargic. “I was physically ill, it was difficult for me to get through the days,” she said.
Recovery meant timing to the minute how much practice she could squeeze in: overdoing it could bring about a relapse.
“I’ve had some pretty tough moments and to have come back from them, just to actually be able to play the sport, to not be injured, that’s something big to me,” she said.
“Life goes by pretty quick and if you don’t [enjoy it], I’m not sure you’re in the right career.”
Jeremy says that Katie’s attitude is what sets her apart from others.
“Nobody wants to be injured, but if you address those moments with the right attitude, it makes you more powerful as a person and more confident,” he points out. She’s shown a huge amount of mental fortitude.
“Hopefully now she can have a run at it and she’s on her way to becoming the complete package.”
Katie lives in Marylebone, London, and is based at the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton, not that she spends much time there.
In a 2018 interview with Vogue, she touched upon her unusual life.
“My travel schedule means I always live out of a suitcase and don’t get to spend that much time with family and friends,” she said. “It can be quite lonely on the road, but I wouldn’t change it for anything.”
She’s also fond of a “cheat day”, when she can eat whatever she likes, and posts about her rare times with her mum and cocker spaniel Poppy to 190,000 followers on Instagram.
Along with followers has come sponsors. Katie has lucrative endorsements from Nike, Wilson and Jaguar. She is estimated to be worth £2million, but it’s not the cash that drives her.
“When the crowd is roaring I appreciate it more than anything on this planet,” she says. “I have an incredible team, boyfriend and friends who keep me grounded.”
* Deborah Wilde, 68, Simon Milner-Edwards, 66, and William Ward, 66, have been charged with aggravated trespass after Just Stop Oil protesters disrupted Wimbledon on Wednesday. They will appear in court on August 7.
