Boulter came into the opening major of the season on the back of a fine 2024 in which she rose into the world’s top 25 for the first time.

A deep run at a Grand Slam tournament has continued to elude her, though, despite the benefit of being seeded at the French Open, Wimbledon, the US Open and now the Australian Open.

Before the tournament on the Melbourne hard courts, Boulter talked about “putting more emphasis” on performing well at the sport’s most prestigious events.

What looked to be a favourable draw enhanced the opportunity to achieve that.

But she admitted battling past Canada’s 98th-ranked Rebecca Marino in the first round was “stressful” and again looked subdued against another player ranked way below her.

“I was thinking straight the whole time. I just don’t think I quite played the way that I wanted to play,” said Boulter.

Boulter’s early exit is even tougher to take considering she arrived at Melbourne Park having started the season well.

Strong showings at the season-opening United Cup included pushing five-time major champion Iga Swiatek in a narrow defeat.

“Last week I’m going toe to toe with Swiatek. Your level doesn’t go anywhere from week to week,” Boulter added.

“It’s just about now being able to transfer that and keep going at it and making it more consistent.”