Katie Boulter is set for her third consecutive main draw appearance at the Australian Open after squeezing in after several withdrawals.
Boulter replaced Yafan Wang at the Australian Open despite being ranked world number 113 after a run of poor form in 2025.
The British star will face an incredibly tough first round match against Belinda Bencic in Melbourne, a player who is yet to lose in singles action this year.
Ahead of her return to the Australian Open, Boulter has reflected on her strange qualification for the Grand Slam.
Katie Boulter found her Australian Open main draw entry ‘stressful’
Boulter’s qualification for the main draw came down to the wire, and the British star did not enjoy the experience despite receiving a favourable result.
Speaking at her Australian Open press conference, she said: “I mean, Saturday and Sunday were pretty stressful, to be completely honest.
What is stopping Katie Boulter from staying in the WTA top 20?
“Look, I’m not precious about playing quallies. I have no problem at all going out there and competing. If that’s where I’m at, that’s not an issue. So I kind of had my headset on playing quallies more than anything, and I was prepared to play.
“But obviously when you are one out, you start thinking, right? You start hearing things on tour about who may or may not be coming. It’s a very difficult situation to be in at that point.
“I just did my best to kind of focus on what I was doing, trying not to think too much about whether I was going to get in or out and just preparing for the Monday. I think I did a pretty good job of that, but don’t get me wrong, it’s been pretty stressful.”
Boulter believes the women’s game should follow suit with the men’s to stop situations like hers happening in the future.
Katie Boulter calls for WTA Tour rule change
The British star wants the WTA Tour to follow suit with the ATP Tour, by introducing a ‘final cut’ so players know if they’ve qualified for Grand Slams with more notice.
“This is something that I really think that I think the WTA can maybe help out a little bit more on. I think I noticed that the ATP have a final cut for the first time, was it, this year on a certain date.
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“I feel like the WTA should maybe follow that, because I’m kind of there, middle of my preseason wondering whether I should be going to play, because other people are playing.”
Boulter decided not to play a 2026 tournament ahead of the Australian Open so she would be more fresh for the Grand Slam.
“I think that’s quite unsettling. It also really doesn’t give a chance for the players to get a proper preseason in. Honestly, it can just result in more injuries.
“If you keep chasing and you keep chasing and you are just trying to search for a main draw, it is hard. It’s a position I don’t really want to be in.
“Ultimately if that’s where I was at, I’m okay with it, because I didn’t really have any other choice. Obviously getting an injury at the end of last year didn’t help me in that aspect, because I felt like even during Tokyo, having qualified, I played great, but unfortunately, that’s when the injury came, at the end of quallies.
“Yeah, it is a rule I would like to see changed, because personally, I don’t think any player should be in the position that they’re in the middle of a preseason trying to go to another tournament. So yeah, it wasn’t easy, no.”
Boulter has also been drawn in the same section of the draw as Elena Rybakina, Maya Joint, and Elise Mertens.
