Great Britain’s Katie Boulter exited the Australian Open after being outclassed by Belinda Bencic in a straight-set first-round loss in Melbourne.
Boulter, the world number 113 after an inconsistent 2025, was a last-minute entry into the main draw following a withdrawal – which spared her from having to compete in qualifying.
Handed a tough opening match, she could not initially compete with Swiss 10th seed Bencic and conceded the first set in just 26 minutes, without winning a game.
Boulter offered much sterner resistance in set two, breaking her opponent’s serve for the first time to level at 4-4, but she could not force a decider.
Bencic, a two-time major semi-finalist, completed a 6-0 7-5 win and will meet Australia’s Daria Kasatkina or Czech teenager Nikola Bartunkova next.
Speaking after her loss, Boulter said she was looking forward to trying to rediscover some form and would contest lower-level tournaments on the WTA Tour to do so.
“Ultimately last year was very bitty, so I never really found I got that rhythm of match play,” Boulter said.
“I’m very excited to go and play some tournaments, even lower ones. I think it will be great for me to do.”