Katie Boulter has followed in Emma Raducanu’s footsteps and deleted social media ahead of Wimbledon. The new British No 1 has been staying off her phone since making back-to-back finals in Japan back in May. And it has more than paid off, with Boulter winning her maiden WTA Tour title and re-entering the world’s top 100 in time for her home Grand Slam tournament.
Boulter will go into Wimbledon as the top-ranked British woman, reaching a career-high of No 77 in the world and currently sitting at No 88. The 26-year-old is fresh off the back of winning her maiden tour-level title in Nottingham, where she was part of the first all-British WTA final in 46 years.
She defeated friend and compatriot Jodie Burrage just a week after reaching the semi-final in Surbiton. And Boulter has insisted that things won’t change now that she’s the top-ranked woman in British tennis – thanks in part to her decision to delete social media.
“I would like to say that I am quite grounded with this stuff,” the 26-year-old told a group of reporters in Eastbourne. “No matter what I am going to do I am going to be working hard, day-in, day-out, I don’t want to get wrapped up in spending too much time off the court, doing other commitments. I want to stay focused.”
Boulter is trying to keep her eye on the ball with Wimbledon on the horizon and is avoiding her phone to make that happen. She continued: “There is a reason why I deleted social media for a while. You know, I don’t really want to lose track on what I am doing, I have stayed the same person the whole time, and I am only ever going to be that person.”
Explaining why she decided to delete her socials, Boulter added: “There was no massive reason, I just felt like I spent a lot of time on it and I just wanted to be a little bit more productive. I’m not that addicted but I think it was more just that I wanted to try and do a few different things.
“When I went to Japan, I was in my own little bubble because I was away from everything. I had no one to talk to because ultimately everyone’s asleep. So it was just a natural course where I’ve put my phone down a little bit more and I ended up liking it. I spent a lot of time reading and doing different things and I’ve just tried to continue that because at the time it works so I’ll keep doing what works I hope.”
But Boulter hasn’t sworn off it entirely and has still been posting about her recent title victory in Nottingham, “I mean of course, it’s not like I’m not on social media. I’m still human, once in a while,” she smiled.
“No, I do. I still have it on my phone. Whether I go on it is another issue. It’s not really my thing.” It’s something Raducanu said she did earlier this season – before she ended up undergoing three surgeries last month.
“After AO (Australian Open) I deleted WhatsApp and Instagram off my phone and after that, I’ve been living under my own little rock,” she said during Indian Wells in March. And Boulter said that none of the British women would be where they were without Raducanu’s success.
The 20-year-old became the first qualifier in history to win a Grand Slam when she lifted the 2021 US Open trophy as an 18-year-old. “If we didn’t have Emma then I don’t think that these girls would be pushing through and I’ve taken a lot of inspiration from her,” Boulter said.
“What she did was absolutely incredible and I don’t think I’ll ever be emulated again. It was quite the moment and she’s a very special girl. I tried to take a lot of a lot of inspiration and tried to do what she was doing.”
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