Katie Boulter makes Eastbourne tournament revelation after changes confirmed

The Lawn Tennis Association will bring women’s tennis back to the Queen’s Club in Barons Court, west London, for the first time since 1973 with a new high-profile event at the beginning of the grass-court season – downgrading Eastbourne’s Women's Tennis Association (WTA) tournament to only feature three top-30 players.

The new grass court season for 2025 will see Eastbourne downgraded to WTA 250 status which means fewer ranking points will be awarded, and prize money could potentially fall, as well as meaning that only three top-30 players could play.

Boulter, 27, is the current British No. 1 in women's singles and may be one of those to miss out on playing at Eastbourne in future years.

She said: “There is a complete change of schedule going into next year.

"I absolutely love playing in Eastbourne. I do very much enjoy coming back here every single year.

"There will still be some very good tennis players coming down here and playing. Hopefully I will be one of them.

"It's such a great event. I'm so glad they've kept an event here. I think that's awesome. It's such a great crowd out here.

"I'm also very much looking forward to having Queens next year - it's such a big step for women's tennis. I'm just looking forward to something new, exciting and different."

Boulter was speaking after winning her opening match at this year’s tournament – a 6-1, 7-6 (10-8) win over Petra Martić.

"Very happy to get through today,” she said.

"This time last year, I played her on that exact court [a 6-4,7-5 defeat]. It was a really good mental battle for me to get through that today.

"I know what she can do. I know how well she can play. She showed it at the end. I managed to battle through. I'm very happy with that.”

Boulter admitted the first set tie-breaker was ‘tense’.

She added: “I was tense. It was a battle. I did have in my mind that I had a close battle against Emma [Raducanu] in Nottingham.

"I didn't quite get over the line in that one [first set tie-breaker]. I just didn't want to make the same mistake.

"It was a good learning curve. To push myself over the line takes a lot of guts and I'm happy with that today. I feel it's a step in the right direction.

“As the set went on, I got a little bit more tight and nervous. My hand was stronger on the racquet which is not the best thing. At 4-0 down, I thought it was done and I could relax. I took a deep breath and hit a couple of good shots that got me back into it.

“I was there, not letting it go and playing well. I was fighting. Those moments are all about heart. I managed to sneak through.”