There is perhaps no more prestigious court in tennis than Wimbledon’s Centre Court.
There is no tournament more steeped in tradition and their iconic showpiece arena has hosted some of the greatest matches in the sport’s history.
Stepping onto Centre Court at SW19 is one of the greatest honours for players, especially those from Britain playing in front of their home crowd.
Britain’s cream of the crop on the WTA Tour is Boulter, who relishes playing at the All-England Club more than anything in tennis.
Katie Boulter shares what a non-British WTA player said about playing on Centre Court at Wimbledon
Katie Boulter is thrilled to be back playing on grass in front of her home fans in the UK.
She is proud to be the British number one and she wants to have a solid run on the grass and continue using her ranking.
Boulter understands more than most the sense of significance of playing at Wimbledon on Centre Court, as do her fellow British players.
But the 28-year-old was touched by what a non-British player had to say about playing on Centre Court, which she disclosed during an appearance on the Performance People podcast.
“I think around the grass court season knowing that everyone in that stadium is there for you,” she said. “Well, not everyone, but most people are there for you to try and help you. It does make you feel very special in that moment.
“There aren’t many words to describe how it feels but even the other day I was talking to one of the foreign players about Centre Court at Wimbledon and how she played on it twice in her career.
“No matter what, those two matches she could have lost 0-0, it doesn’t really matter to her. She said that just walking on to that court meant the whole world to her. It meant her whole career.
“It meant she had a chance to play on one of the most if not the most, in my opinion, iconic courts of all time. And, yeah, is coming from someone who is not British and now you put a few more layers on top of that for someone who is British. It is something else.”
Katie Boulter aims for a new career-best performance at Wimbledon
Boulter will enter Wimbledon ranked inside the top 40 and as the British number one.
She has yet to progress beyond the fourth round and her best result is reaching round three in 2022 and 2023.
She will face some tough tests along the way, but Boulter is ready for the challenge and will draw on support from the home fans to push her forward.
“It’s an amazing feeling, and you really do sense the support behind you,” Boulter told British Vogue about playing at Wimbledon. “But I try not to fixate on the title. Rankings change all the time, and I want to see the other British girls doing well too.
“My goal is to go higher in the world rankings. I ticked that British No.1 box a few years ago, which was a dream of mine, but now I’m chasing bigger goals. I always want more.”
