Katie Boulter’s time at the ASB Classic came to an end at the hands of top seed Elina Svitolina, who won in straight sets.
Boulter received a wild card for the ASB Classic ahead of her first stint in Australian Open qualifying for a very long time.
The British star fell outside the top 100 after a poor run of form in the back end of the 2025 season, and top seed Elina Svitolina proved too much for her in Auckland.
Svitolina, who suffered a difficult end to the 2025 season as well, shared her reaction after defeating Boulter.
Elina Svitolina says ‘fighting spirit’ helped her defeat Katie Boulter
Svitolina defeated Boulter 7-5, 6-4 in a narrow contest to continue her unbeaten singles record in the new season.
The Ukrainian star had not previously played since the Billie Jean King Cup finals in September, but she has lived up to her top seeding in Auckland.
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After the match, Svitolina said: “It definitely was very important to me to fight for every point and try to find my way through. I was just pleased with the way I could handle the tough games.
“My fighting spirit, I would say it’s back. And I would say it’s nice to be refreshed and hungry again, to work hard, to face these tough moments.
“So the period of time at the end of the season that I took off, it really helped me to find again this spirit and fighting experience that I’ve been having for many years.”
Svitolina set up a quarter-final match-up with another British star, Sonay Kartal, after Kartal beat Ella Seidel in straight sets.
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Svitolina is still ranked inside the top 20 despite her extended break from the sport, but she has not tasted hardcourt success for a very long time.
She has not won a hardcourt tournament since winning the Chicago Open in August 2021, when she defeated Alize Cornet in the final.
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The last time Svitolina reached the final of a hardcourt tournament was the 2024 ASB Classic, but she lost to Coco Gauff in the final.
As the top seed in the 2026 event, Svitolina has the perfect opportunity to win her first hardcourt title for 40 months.
Svitolina’s last WTA title came on a clay court, when she defeated Olga Danilović to win Open de Rouen in 2025.
