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Katie Boulter is so eager to build on her successes of this season that she will forgo a holiday and get straight back in the gym.<\/p>\n
The 27-year-old capped a breakthrough year in which she won a first WTA Tour title and reached the top 50 by leading Great Britain to victory over Sweden in the Billie Jean King Cup in London.<\/p>\n
Boulter cited her biggest achievement, though, as simply playing a full season having been beset by injuries and illness throughout her career so far.<\/p>\n
Top of the Leicestershire player\u2019s objectives is therefore trying to ensure the same is true for 2024, but she also has her sights set on being seeded at grand slams and proving she belongs at the top of the game.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve got a few different goals in my mind,\u201d she said. \u201cI want to build on this year, I really want to get my feet inside the line, which I already have but now I\u2019ve got to stay there, I\u2019ve got to win these matches week in, week out, beating the top girls.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou reach your goal and you think you\u2019d be satisfied but you\u2019re not even close. I\u2019m already looking at the next milestone, I want to be seeded in slams, that\u2019s my next stop. I want to be constantly in the top 50, I want to be pushing those boundaries.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo matter how happy I might be with my year, I actually think it fuels me even more and makes me hungrier going into next year because it\u2019s given me a lot of belief that I belong at this level and I genuinely see and think that I can climb up the rankings but I also know there\u2019s a lot of hard work to be done.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve got to pace myself but I want to be back in the gym, I want to be bullet-proofing my body as quickly as possible, taking the least amount of days off that I possibly can.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her new season will begin before the year is out at the United Cup, a mixed international team competition in Australia that will see Boulter go head-to-head against her Australian boyfriend Alex De Minaur.<\/p>\n
She said: \u201cWe respect each other as competitors and also off the court as well. I\u2019m sure we\u2019ll talk about it when we get a little closer to it but we\u2019re both going to put our heart on the line for our countries. I know he\u2019s country proud, I know I\u2019m country proud, so we\u2019ll see if we\u2019re still together by the end of it!\u201d<\/p>\n
Sweden were among the weakest opposition Britain could have faced, and a nightmare debut for Jodie Burrage, which left them having to come from behind to secure a 3-1 victory, was the obvious negative of the weekend.<\/p>\n
I’ve got to pace myself but I want to be back in the gym, I want to be bullet-proofing my body as quickly as possible.<\/p>\n
Captain Anne Keothavong does have experienced players in her ranks, though, and Harriet Dart proved a solid pair of hands when she replaced Burrage on Sunday to wrap up the tie.<\/p>\n
Both Burrage and Boulter have had the best seasons of their careers and sit in the top 100, leaving the national picture looking rosier than a period in the spring when there were no British women in double figures.<\/p>\n
Keothavong hopes there will soon be competition, as well, from a crop of highly promising teenagers.<\/p>\n
Isabelle Lacy, 17, was at the Copper Box as a hitting partner while there is real excitement around the futures of 14-year-old Hannah Klugman and 16-year-old Mingge Xu, who led Britain\u2019s Junior Billie Jean King Cup team to the semi-finals last week, and another 14-year-old, Mika Stojsavljevic.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe more of you competing at that highest level, the better,\u201d said Keothavong. \u201cYou\u2019re going to push each other, and it\u2019s not just (these players).<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got Mimi Xu and Hannah Klugman, the girls did really well this week, and they\u2019ve shown lots of promise over the last few weeks, scoring some good wins.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know they\u2019re limited (by age) with the number of tournaments they can play but their level is up there and I think that\u2019s really exciting for women\u2019s tennis. We\u2019ve got competition for places on this team and we\u2019ve got players with experience who know how it works, but there\u2019s no guarantee for anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n