"It was really daunting, Roger Federer was going to judge me" - Katie Boulter revisits fond memories facing Swiss legend at Hopman Cup

British number one Katie Boulter has gotten a chance to play against some of the best players in the world over the years. During a sitdown with Sky Sports, the Brit talked about some of the players that she has faced, especially those that possess a strong serve.

She was asked who the toughest server she faced was and named a few of them such as Karolina Pliskova, Coco Gauff, and Aryna Sabalenka.

"There's some big serves out there. Pliskova. Coco. Sabalenka."

Then Boulter remembered the time she played mixed doubles in the Hopman Cup, where she found herself on the opposite side of the net to Roger Federer. That was a memory she can't forget; even if it was quite daunting for the Brit. She also remembers hitting an ace against Frances Tiafoe once, which she jokingly stated that she still reminds him of.

"Actually I got a chance to face Federer. Yeah Roger in Hopman Cup. It was daunting. It was really daunting. I was so excited for it and then the moment that I actually walked out on court I realized I was actually gonna have to to play tennis. He's probably going to judge me but yeah it was really fun."

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Katie Boulter facing Roger Federer for the first time

Roger Federer is not an active tennis player anymore, but he was back in 2019 and taking part in the Hopman Cup. It was one of the last editions of the event and it featured Katie Boulter playing for Great Britain as well. In fact, Boulter found herself on the opposite side of the net to Federer for the first time in her life. It happened during a mixed doubles match when she and Cameron Norrie faced Federer and Belinda Bencic.

"Sharing the court with Roger was a surreal feeling, and receiving his serve isn’t something I ever thought would happen in my career. I actually hit him with a volley, which was a bit awkward, but he took it in good spirits!" - Katie Boulter in 2019 after facing Roger Federer for the first time in her life (via Tennis World).

The Hopman Cup was disbanded not long after that, removing a chance for players like Boulter to face some legendary players like Federer. There have been attempts to resurrect it, but it doesn't seem likely to succeed. As for Boulter and Federer, they never stood on a tennis court together again because the latter retired from the sport in 2022 after three years of injury problems.