Katie Boulter suffers defeat in straight sets to Elena Rybakina at Wimbledon

Wimbledon lost its last British singles event and its unofficial banner star on Saturday night when Katie Boulter was rushed out of the championships by defending champion Elena Rybakina.

The world number three from Kazakhstan crushed the hopes of the Center Court in a short time, but at least the audience, who had waited until mid-evening, got a great demonstration of grass tennis.

As much as Boulter had done to survive to the third round, the gap in class was evident as she fell 6-1 6-1 in just 57 minutes, helpless to stop the stream of winners coming from the other side.

A consolation is £131,000 in prize money, a permanent place in the top 100 and the distinction of being the last domestic player out of the main events. She will now have to concentrate on the mixed doubles, in which she will team up with friend Alex De Minaur, who watched from her support act.

Boulter was especially powerless against her opponent’s thumping serve, one of the best shots of the entire women’s tour.

“I’m very happy with my serve, it’s a weapon in my game,” Rybakina said afterwards. “It was a very long wait and a bit tough, but we got used to it.”

Boulter suffered a straight set defeat to defending champion Elena Rybakina

The players didn’t get to court until just after 8.45pm, the result of drawn out games and a rain delay that caused a 50-minute break in the previous game as the skies opened in the early evening.

That meant there was barely two hours to wrap it up before the mandatory 11pm curfew – something that shouldn’t be tested – and there were big gaps in both the stands and the Royal Box, with some people clearly having to leave for the day .

Again Center Court seemed to dry longer than number one, where play resumed more quickly despite the roof closing more slowly.

While there is a limited amount one can do about showers, Wimbledon once again provoked trouble by insisting on a 1.30pm start, which is designed to push play into the evening, in an era where matches are getting longer and longer .

There was frustration for Boulter as she was defeated by Rybakina in just 57 minutes

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Dealing with a long delay is a science in itself, in terms of eating and warming up pre-match, and neither player would have huge experience in this area.

For Boulter, it was a return to Center Court a year after knocking out 2021 finalist Karolina Pliskova, whose big serve and heavy-hit groundstrokes make her somewhat comparable to the defending champion.

Rybakina hadn’t had the perfect run-up to Wimbledon, lamenting the lingering effects of a virus, but she was hardened by two wins over seasoned opponents in the past week as she proved a different proposition than Pliskova.

For Boulter, with barely a top 100 win to her name this season, it was a huge step up in class against the phlegmatic Kazakh.

Despite her petite stature, Rybakina can hit the ball with ease with her long handles. However, Boulter can fight fire with fire and hit the ball into the corners early on in response.

Rybakina has the highest number of aces on the WTA Tour by some distance, and in her first two service games, she kissed the lines with three of them.

One of her varied skills is also an excellent service return, and in the fourth game the pressure showed as she forced a second break point and gladly accepted it when the British player made a mess of an attempted drop shot with a backhand.

The crowd has been desperate for someone who has been given an unusually high profile for her stature in the game, but Rybakina had to hit another ace on the ‘T’ to consolidate the break for 4-1.

The unflappable Rybakina compensated the damage for Boulter with a second break

It was a huge step forward for Boulter against the phlegmatic Kazakh on Center Court

The unflappable Rybakina fired the ball like a tracer missile and added to the damage with a second break as it became increasingly clear why she had broken from the pack to claim the title a year ago.

The first set was played in just 26 minutes when the world number three sent down a sixth ace of the match. It wasn’t that Boulter did anything particularly wrong, she just got outhit from the baseline.

The 26-year-old from Leicestershire has spent much of the year playing on the second tier ITF tour, where you just don’t get this level of ball attack.

To have had any chance, Rybakina would have had to play under herself, which just didn’t happen. She broke again at the start of the second and had won 17 of 19 points on the first serve by the time she moved to 3-1.

Boulter couldn’t compete with the flat groundstrokes coming her way, though she got a pinch back at 4-1 in the second inning with the tide washing over her.

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