Katie Boulter’s Indian Wells campaign has come to an end… for now.
The British star had enjoyed an excellent start to the 2026 season, winning her fourth career title at the Ostrava Open and reaching the Mexico Open quarter-finals.
After rising more than 40 places in the WTA rankings, Boulter came into Indian Wells as the top seed in qualifying.
The 29-year-old defeated Viktoriya Tomova in the first round and needed just one more victory to qualify for the main draw in California.
However, Boulter’s hopes of doing so came to an end on Wednesday, as she lost to Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva in three sets.
Katie Boulter will need to rely on withdrawals to qualify for the Indian Wells main draw
Boulter began the match in a strong vein of form against her Andorran opponent, winning the first set 6-2.
However, she failed to capitalise on her advantage, losing the next two sets 5-7, 2-6.
What is stopping Katie Boulter from staying in the WTA top 20?
It was a truly disappointing result for the world number 64, who had demonstrated great form heading into the event.
However, she will now need to hope that a player withdraws from the main draw. Otherwise, her Indian Wells campaign will be over.
Luckily for Boulter, she was the number one seed in qualifying, meaning any main-draw withdrawal would result in her entry into the main event as a lucky loser.
If Boulter does not qualify for the main draw, she will likely fall in the rankings – as she will lose 63 WTA ranking points.
How did Boulter perform at the 2025 Indian Wells event?
Last year, Boulter was not required to come through qualifying, entering the tournament as the 25th seed.
The Brit, then 28 years old, defeated Irina Camelia-Begu 6-7, 6-3, 6-0 to set up a second-round match against Elena Rybakina.
Rybakina, now a two-time Grand Slam champion, defeated Boulter 6-0, 7-5.
Rybakina exited the tournament in the very next round, losing to eventual champion Mirra Andreeva.
Is Rybakina the best player on the WTA Tour right now?
If not, who is better?
At this year’s event, Rybakina has received a bye through to the second round, where she will face Emiliana Arango or Hailey Baptiste.
If Rybakina were to win her second-round match, she would likely play Marta Kostyuk in the third round. Kostyuk is making her return from injury at the event having not played a match since the Australian Open.
