Australian Open 2025: Katie Boulter loses to Veronika Kudermetova in second round

Boulter came into early season prominence on the back of a stellar 2024 season, in which she broke into the world top 25 for the first time.

However, despite being seeded at the French Open, Wimbledon, US Open and now the Australian Open, deep runs at Grand Slam tournaments have eluded them.

Ahead of the tournament on Melbourne hard courts, Boulter talked about placing “greater emphasis” on performing well at the sport’s most prestigious events.

The chances of achieving what looked to be a favorable draw increased.

But she admitted it was “stressful” facing 98th-ranked Rebecca Marino of Canada in the first round and then going down to another player ranked much lower than her.

Kudermetova’s pedigree is much better than Marino’s, with her reaching the top 10 for a few months in late 2022.

Bolter was unable to hold on to early rallies as powerful baseliner Kudermetova used the weapons that have served her well in the past to lead 5-1.

But her inconsistency – which is why she didn’t remain a top-10 player for long – allowed Boulter to come back.

Kudermetova called for the physio at a changeover before serving for the set, before Boulter fought back to take it 5–4.

For a long time, Kudermetova lay on the court to get treatment for her lower back injury.

While Kudermetova regrouped to dominate the tie-break, Bolter took the lead with a double break early in the second set to lead 4–1 and her confidence grew as she leveled the match.

The pressure on Kudermetova’s serve continued in the deciding game.

Bolter could not convert a break point at 1-1 as her opponent’s return dragged her across the baseline and the momentum quickly changed as Kudermetova lost the last four games.