Boulter seals British history at Australian Open with six players into round two | Australian Open 2025

Six British players have won their first-round matches at the Australian Open for the first time in history after Katie Boulter held her nerve in a tense final stage of a tough contest against Canada’s Rebecca Marino 6-4, 3-6, 7- 5 win.

“It’s great to have some positivity around British tennis,” Boulter said. “It’s been a long time coming. It is only the beginning. I really think these girls and guys have worked so hard and everyone deserves a bit of credit. It’s obviously a good start for everyone and let’s hope we can continue that.”

Boulter, the British no. 1 and 22nd seed, battled past one of the biggest servers in the women’s game. Marino broke through his service games and cleared the ball from both wings in the final two sets. Despite her growing frustration and lack of rhythm, Boulter held her serve throughout the third set before putting Marino under immense pressure in her final service game.

“There was a lot of pressure on my service games to try and get through them,” she said. “I felt like it was a mental fight in the end and I managed to do it in the end. I’m really happy to be in the second round because at the end of the day for me these fights are the most important. Finding a way , when someone swings free, the difference between the top players and those ranked a little lower.”

As the Australian crowd supported her well into the night, Boulter was cheered on by her fiance Alex de Minaur, who rushed to the Kia Arena shortly after her 6-1, 7-5, 6-4 victory over Botic van de Zandschulp at Rod Laver Arena to support her in the final moments of her fight.

Boulter’s win moved her into the second round alongside Emma Raducanu, Jodie Burrage, Harriet Dart, Jack Draper and Jacob Fearnley as six of the eight British players in the main draw progressed. She will next face former top 10 player Veronika Kudermetova.

Earlier on Tuesday, Cameron Norrie said his preparations for the Australian Open had been hit hard by illness and he had “barely practiced” ahead of the tournament after suffering a tough 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6- 1, 6 -3 defeat to Matteo Berrettini, the former no. 7 and 2021 Wimbledon finalist, in the first round.

“I haven’t been able to prepare as well as I could,” Norrie said. “I’ve been pretty sick in Auckland to come here, just barely practiced. Honestly, I’ve felt the ball so well. Pre-season was excellent. It was a bit unlucky with the timing. I definitely gave myself the best chance. just hit the wall after an hour and a bit. was a bit disappointing. just get my health back to 100% something rest. It’s just hard to sustain it today.”

Meanwhile, Draper said he is prepared for a difficult atmosphere in his second-round clash against Thanasi Kokkinakis in Melbourne on Wednesday night: “It will definitely bring the best out of me,” he said. “I think it will be a really good atmosphere. Whether the crowd is with me or against me, I remember what it was like to play Futures (tournaments) without anyone watching. That’s what I play for, to play in front of a lot of people and entertain.”