Forte d'un titre au Trophée Clarins, le premier de sa saison, Katie Boulter arrive à Roland-Garros avec une jauge de confiance au maximum. Lors de sa seule participation au tableau final, en 2024, la Britannique s'était inclinée dès le premier tour, face à Paula Badosa. Cette année, l'entrée en lice de la 38e mondiale devrait être plus accessible puisqu'elle affrontera une qualifiée. Après une édition 2024 où aucune des deux Britanniques en lice n'avait passé le premier tour, la délégation britannique aura à coeur de prouver que cette nation peut performer sur terre battue et donc à Roland-Garros, malgré le peu d'expérience, comme Katie Boulter l'a expliquée en conférence de presse.
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00:00BNP Paribas, partenaire des plus belles histoires de Roland-Garros, aux côtés des ramasseurs de balles depuis plus de 50 ans.
00:17Hiya! Hey guys! Okay, we will go ahead and get started. Okay, perfect. Katie, welcome back to Roland-Garros, fresh off a title here in Paris, the 125 event. Can you just give us your thoughts on how you're feeling coming into this slam?
00:37Yeah, I think I'm coming in with a slightly different perspective. I feel like I gained a lot of momentum last week and I personally prefer the balls and the courts here than the rest of the clay swings, so I think it suits me more. But yeah, of course, another opportunity at a slam. I've never won a match here, so I think it's a great opportunity to get that going and yeah, we'll see what happens.
01:02Just talk us through the decision process to play last week and how much benefit you feel it's done to you coming in here.
01:12My decision was actually way at the start of this process. I played Paris 125 last year, mainly because back then I wanted to get some matches on the clay courts, irrelevant of how I did in the first couple.
01:28This one, I'd already decided that way before and I actually wanted to come back here to play with the balls and to play on the same courts as Paris, obviously Roland-Garros.
01:39So for me, that was my thought process with it. Obviously, you know, I find that Madrid and Rome are very different tournaments and you have to adapt very quickly.
01:50And, you know, just like a hard court, there are some weeks that suit you and some that don't. And I really don't love both those tournaments.
01:59And when I stepped on the courts here last year for the 125, I felt automatically already better. So I wanted to give that a go again and see if it gave me a bit more confidence.
02:08And obviously, sometimes playing the lower ranked events are really good and then you can kind of gain a bit of confidence with them.
02:14And I personally am a bit of a confidence player, so I feel like I need that sometimes.
02:19And yeah, I was very happy to step down and play that tournament. I had no expectations going into it.
02:24And obviously, I think it helped and it worked.
02:28You mentioned the courts and the balls there that you prefer them big.
02:30Can you just give us detail about what it is you actually prefer about and why it feels better for you as a player?
02:34I think without going into any massive specifics in Madrid and Rome, but I just think it clicks with my game more.
02:43I think I find I do more damage with the balls here than I do in Rome.
02:47Obviously, the conditions there are very slow and the way that I play, you know, I'm trying to be aggressive and I have to do that consistently.
02:55I do feel like when I'm not running on a red line and trying to go for everything, I can get away with a few things like shape and a bit more variation with the balls here rather than there.
03:08They kind of sit a little bit, especially with my forehands.
03:12So, yeah, I just find they're easier for me to control and I get more off of it.
03:17But look, again, it's not just the difference of playing with different balls.
03:21I think it's just getting more experience on the courts.
03:24Katie, 12 months ago, it was a complete washout for all the Brits in the tournament.
03:28None of them won.
03:30Do you see that happening again?
03:31And where are we with British players on clay?
03:33Have things improved over the last year, would you say?
03:36I feel like we've had a few conversations around the Roland Garris period in the last few years.
03:43And I think, you know, people can be quite critical of the Brits around the clay court season, right before the grass season.
03:52And, you know, as you know, it's not our preferred surface.
03:56You know, we don't grow up on it.
03:57We don't get the chance to play on it that much as a kid.
04:01So naturally, our game styles don't suit it as much.
04:05And I find that the more that I learn how to play on this surface, the better I get.
04:12I think the more years that I have personally, and I think also players as well in general on the British side, they'll work it out.
04:19They're all smart people.
04:20They know what they're doing.
04:22It's just a matter of time before it clicks and they start winning a lot more matches on it.
04:26So every year for me is a new year.
04:28I find that, you know, a lot of people are coming in this year with quite a few wins under their belt, which is great.
04:35And, yeah, so it's another opportunity to show that we can play on the clay and we can adapt and we can get better.
04:42But, again, I'm very realistic with it.
04:44So, you know, I'm not expecting massive things.
04:46And I think that's also something that will help me as well.
04:50Thank you, Katie.
04:52You, Sonny and Emma are all relatively tightly bunched in the rankings now.
04:57So how much of a motivator is it for you to hold on to your British number one status and how much would it hurt if you do lose it in the next few weeks?
05:09I think it's a good question.
05:15I think, for me, I've been in this space for a long time now.
05:20I've not been here for one week and, you know, we've been here two and a half years or whatever it is.
05:27I don't even know now.
05:28Almost three years or probably something like this.
05:29I feel like I've ticked that goal of being British number one.
05:35If my ranking is going in the right direction, I'll remain there.
05:40If not, great.
05:42The other girls are doing really well.
05:43You know, I want to see Emma and Sonny and anyone else pushing me in the rankings.
05:49I want that because ultimately it means that I've got to get my ranking up to hold that spot and my primary focus is going to be on myself.
06:00You know, I take being British number one as a privilege, but at the same time, it's not my goal.
06:07It's not something that, you know, I want to put down on a piece of paper and say that I've been that for 10 years.
06:14It's a privilege to be that, but I want to get my ranking back up to where it was.
06:18I think at the end of last year, obviously my career high of 20, like the lower 20s, that's where I want to be.
06:25And then pushing on from there.
06:26Obviously, this year for me has been a little bit different because I've struggled with my foot and I've had quite a few weeks out that I would have done, which I wouldn't have done in the past.
06:38And then building that momentum back has been difficult for me.
06:41You know, I've been playing with a lot of pain.
06:43And for me, my focus is on the fact that I'm back here playing five matches last week.
06:49I'm very happy that I don't have pain in my foot and I'm back playing some of the best tennis that I've been playing and, you know, back to my level where I was at the start of the year in United Cup.
06:58So for me, that is that is a huge plus and my only focus going into the next couple of months, you know, but I do want to stress that being British number one is a privilege.
07:09And I always take that role with, yeah, a lot of a lot of happiness.
07:16But at the same time, it's not my goal.
07:20Katie, as a hardworking athlete, I'm interested in your thoughts about the Max Purcell case.
07:27He was banned for undergoing two intravenous infusions, a forbidden method under the WADA code.
07:33The ITIA case documents say he feigned injury to justify the infusion and Googled everything, also the WADA limit of 100 milliliters.
07:43So less than 100 milliliters are allowed when it comes to infusions.
07:47In the 90s, when allowed, infusions were common in tennis.
07:50They help with recovery in tennis and performance also and are not detectable in normal doping tests.
07:57Do you think there are still a problem in tennis today?
07:59I think it would be very unfair of me to comment on a case like that because I actually didn't know half that information that you just told me.
08:14Obviously, I'm completely for a clean sport, but I really don't know his case specifically.
08:20I'm sorry, I can't comment on that.
08:22And in general, enough confusion?
08:25I really don't know enough.
08:27Like, I don't know.
08:28Yeah, sorry.
08:28You're welcome.
08:30Thank you.