Katie Boulter has revealed a flying visit to see her boyfriend Alex de Minaur has given her renewed energy to lead Great Britain at the Billie Jean King Cup.
But the British No.1 insisted she is happy to fly “under the radar” and let Emma Raducanu take all the headlines after she was praised by the American legend.
The world No.24 played five events in her long Asian swing after the US Open and finished by reaching the final at the Hong Kong Open earlier this month.
She then hooked up with her Spain-based Aussie before arriving in Malaga.
And the Leicester City fan brought her hot Asian form to the Costa del Sol as she thrashed Germany’s Laura Siegemund to book Britain a quarter-final tie with defending champions Canada on Sunday.
Asked how she had recovered from her hectic WTA season, Boulter said: “I took two days off, went to see my boyfriend which filled the tank up a fair bit, I will say. It’s been seven weeks, so that was really nice for me.
“It’s been a long season, but I left a lot in the tank for this tournament, and I’m going to be here fighting for every single ball. I think it’s a massive credit to my team.
“I think not only have I stayed healthy this year, I’m still here feeling good, playing matches no problem at all. So I think that’s something like a testament to how hard I have worked over these last few years, especially.
“This year has been a massive push, and I have changed my training a little bit where I’m training more through tournaments. It’s really paying off now.”
Billie Jean King told the BBC this week she had been impressed by Boulter’s climb up the rankings. “People should pay attention to her,” she said.
“I’ve been watching her for about five years now and every year she has got a little bit better – I don’t think people appreciate her enough. She’s got quicker, she’s got more consistent.”
Boulter responded: “I didn’t see that, very kind words coming from a true legend of our sport. Means a lot. For me, look, I don’t mind flying under the radar.
“I keep my head down, I get the work done, keep moving my ranking up higher and higher. I’m really happy with the way I’m progressing, and that’s all that really matters. I’m working hard every single day. I don’t mind if that is under the radar or not.
“Doesn’t really matter to me. I’m just going to keep working. Yeah, I just do my best. That’s all I can do. Yeah, I’m very happy with getting another win today, and hopefully keep pushing towards this week.”
Raducanu has been the darling of British tennis since her amazing 2021 US Open triumph and remains the focus of media attention.
And Boulter was happy to hail her team-mate who got Britain off to a flying start in their first round win over Germany in her first match for 54 days.
“She did incredibly well today,” said the British No.1. “Obviously she hasn’t played that many matches, so to see that level out there again, just doing really well, it’s really nice to see. It’s where she belongs.
“I’m sure she’s going to be winning a lot of matches like these. So yeah, going in 1-0 up feels great, helps me swing free a little bit more, so yeah, it was a really good start to the tournament.”
