Boulter has struggled on clay throughout her career, only winning her first WTA-Tour level match on the surface in 2025.
Despite winning just four clay-court matches across five tournaments this season, Boulter feels like she is making positive steps.
“I have to keep reminding myself that I got my first win on clay last year and I’m here now testing some of the better players on a clay court and that is important to me,” Boulter told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“I’m taking the steps towards where I feel like I need to be on a clay court. It’s taking time but I do think that today was one of the better matches I’ve played.
“I think I found my identity really well on the court and I just went after it. I started to commit to my shots and see where I was winning points and start gravitating towards that more.”
Frustratingly, it was not her groundstrokes or being outfoxed by the conditions which cost her against Potapova, but her serve.
Boulter hit 10 double faults to just one ace, her first-serve percentage down at 54% and she only won 36% of points behind her second serve, while only 16 of her 51 unforced errors were groundstrokes.
“I’ve hit a couple of double faults in big moments but, at the same time, I think I’m also trying to improve my serve,” she said in her main press conference.
“I’m not necessarily holding back, and I’m not just trying to push the ball in the court and run.
“I’m pleased with the way it’s going towards my goals. It’s a work in progress. It’s going to be good days and bad days. I think I’m pretty level-headed about it.”
Boulter has been struggling to shake off an illness in recent days and, moving forward, she said her “number one priority” is returning to full fitness for the upcoming grass-court tournaments.
