Katie Boulter says being a tennis star definitely has a negative side to it as the three-time WTA champion is well-recognizable and once even received a message from someone telling her he was outside and waiting for her to harm her.
For the past year and a half, the world No. 24 has been the highest-ranked British female tennis player. This year, she enjoyed her career-best season after landing two titles at the WTA 500 tournament in San Diego and also successfully defending her trophy on the grass courts of Nottingham.
However, not everything has been perfect about Boulter’s rise and newfound fame. During the ATP tournament at the Queen’s Club – where Alex de Minaur was playing – she went to pick up her Australian boyfriend when she realized that they were being followed by someone. It was a scary experience but fortunately it only ended there.
“People have followed me at times. I actually went to go and pick up Alex from Queens, and I had someone follow me in the car. We went to Sloane Square, got out, went for a walk around the shops and stuff and the same car was following me home. I was with Alex, so it was absolutely fine, but yeah, it wasn’t the best feeling,” Boulter told The Guardian.
Boulter: Someone nearby messaged me threatening to hurt me…
In each of the past four years, the British tennis star competed at the WTA 250 tournament in Nottingham and won back-to-back titles there in 2023 and 2024. But while Nottingham has been her most successful tournament, that was also the place where she probably had the most frightening experience of her tennis career.
During one of her campaigns in Nottingham. Boulter received a message from someone who claimed he was nearby and ready to hurt her. The 28-year-old instantly alerted the WTA, who did all the right steps to help the former world No. 23.
While revealing that story, the Briton noted that the WTA does an outstanding job when it comes to protecting players.
“One time in Nottingham, I had someone messaging me on social media saying: ‘I’m outside. I’m going to hurt you if you come outside.’ Obviously I alerted the WTA, and they found the guy, who was actually on site. Things like this happen all the time. Obviously we are very well protected, which makes you feel safe. The WTA does a great job of being there for you with that. I do feel like we are protected as much as possible, which at least puts your mind at ease a little bit,” Boulter shared.
Katie Boulter© Katie Boulter/Instagram – Fair Use
Boulter reacts to Danielle Collins’ similar story
In July, world No. 11 Collins claimed that there were several instances during tournaments when she was being stalked by someone. And realizing that someone was probably following her with the intention of getting closer to her was a scary realization for the 2022 Australian Open runner-up.
As a response, the 30-year-old became very cautious and aware of her surroundings whenever at a practice court or on site of a tournament. Also, she decided not to post much on social media because she wouldn’t want someone to know her exact location.
“I’ve had to be very vigilant and cautious about how I conduct my life, to make sure I’m safe. I think sometimes that has come across to fans as being withdrawn, distant, but the reality is that sometimes I’ve had to be more careful about what I say and do because I don’t want certain people knowing where I am, what I’m doing or patterns in my day-to-day life,” Collins told The Telegraph.
“That’s an important thing to highlight, because to other people it can be perceived as she doesn’t post often or she’s not very friendly, she doesn’t interact with fans or other players. But it’s like, ‘No, I don’t seem to interact with other players because I don’t want someone who’s been stalking me to go through who I’m friends with and then calling them at work – because that’s happened.’”
When asked about the Collins case, Boulter confirmed that stuff like that indeed happens.
“It’s something that I’ve always thought about. Us as women, if we’re home alone at night, sometimes we do think about those things,” the Briton said.
A couple of years ago – after Emma Raducanu won the US Open and made all the headlines across British tabloids and papers – a stalker somehow found the location of her house and stalked the Briton for some time. Ultimately, he was caught by the authorities and given a five-year restraining order.
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