Britain’s new number one Katie Boulter has long been destined for tennis stardom

As the country’s new Number One, the spotlight is firmly on Katie Boulter as she leads the charge of British women hopefuls at Wimbledon next week.

But as these photographs show, it appears that the 26-year-old has long been destined for tennis stardom.

She is the third generation in her family to embrace the sport after following in the footsteps of her mother Sue, 58, and maternal grandmother Jill Gartshore – both talented players in their own right.

Inspired by the two women, Ms Boulter began playing at her grandmother’s tennis club in Leicestershire aged four. Pictures from the family album show her smiling gleefully as a toddler clutching a racket too big for her tiny hands. Another shows her visiting a grass court while being carried in the arms of her tennis coach mother.

Mrs Boulter was a junior British international who twice captained Leicestershire at the County Cup.

She is the third generation in her family to embrace the sport after following in the footsteps of her mother Sue (Pictured: Katie Boulter being held by her mother Sue with brother James) 

Undated local newspaper cutting on Jill Gartshore (left) and daughter Susan Gartshore on their tennis success

Katie Boulter and granny Jill Gartshore, who was also a gifted player and in 1957, when she was a student at Queen Mary’s College London, she won the Inter Universities Athletic Board’s women’s doubles Championships

Jill Gartshore was also a gifted player and in 1957, when she was a student at Queen Mary’s College London, she won the Inter Universities Athletic Board’s women’s doubles Championships. The two often competed together and went on to win the Remington Mother and Daughter Tennis Championship in 1987.

Even Katie’s grandfather Brian Gartshore – an inventor who created anti-theft clothes tags – was a keen player.

But it is her mother – who she describes as her idol – who has been the biggest inspiration.She said: ‘She has been one of my idols my whole life. She has looked after me from the worst moments to the best moments.

‘It is great she has an understanding of tennis at such a great level. She understands me and what I am going through,’ Ms Boulter added in the interview with the Mail in 2018.