Katie Boulter conceded she was beaten by the “much better player” as her Wimbledon run came to an end with a crushing loss to defending champion Elena Rybakina.

Boulter cemented her new-found status as British number one by reaching the last-32 for a second successive year, and there were high hopes she could at least give third seed Rybakina a match.

Boulter has shown many times that she loves the big stage but, having waited until nearly 9pm to walk out on Centre Court, she managed to detain Rybakina for only 56 minutes in a 6-1 6-1 hammering that ends home singles hopes at Wimbledon.

“Obviously a really tough match against a tough competitor,” said the 26-year-old. “I gave it my best today. I wouldn’t say I really felt like I got into the match fully.

“She’s clearly the defending champion for a reason, and I learned a lot today and that’s what I’m going to have to take from today’s match.”

After some positive results earlier in the week it has been a chastening two days for British tennis, with Andy Murray, Cameron Norrie and Liam Broady all falling on Friday.

Boulter pulled off the best win of her career in the second round here last year, defeating former finalist Karolina Pliskova, and in seven previous matches against top-10 players had only failed to win at least a set on one occasion.

Rybakina had not been convincing in the first two rounds after coming into the tournament under-cooked because of illness but she hit her stride straight away and the match quickly got away from Boulter.

The Kazakh possesses probably the fiercest strike in the women’s game, as well as the best serve following Serena Williams’ retirement, and she lost only nine points on serve throughout the match while hitting 20 winners.

Boulter admitted she has never faced a ball-strike quite like Rybakina’s before, saying: “Obviously it’s a lot quicker and the majority of girls, they don’t quite hit the ball like that. It’s quite flat. You don’t really see where she’s going. She disguises it very well.

“I struggled with it a lot today. It felt like I got into it a little bit at times and I started to pick up her ball but she was relentless at the end of the day. She was the much better player.”

Having to wait until so late to go on court after two long matches and a rain delay probably did not help Boulter, who nevertheless insisted she enjoyed the occasion.

“It was quite late,” she said. “Obviously it was my first match playing under lights. It was a little bit different and it took time for me to adjust on serve especially. I don’t think I quite found it.

“I will always reflect back on something positive. The crowd are incredible. I wanted to give them a bit more today, but unfortunately I couldn’t do that. But I appreciated them every single second I was out there.”

There are certainly positives to take from the grass-court season for Boulter, who won her first WTA Tour event in Nottingham last month, while she will be at a career-high ranking just outside the top 70 a week on Monday.

“I’m sure it’s going to be a tough night but I’m going to sit here tomorrow morning and tell you that I’m at a career high,” she said.

“I’ve had some seriously positive weeks. I’ve come off the back of five long weeks with no injuries, no issues.

“I’ve got a great rest of the year ahead of me. I’ve got not many points to defend. It’s a really good opportunity for me to keep pushing my ranking up and really make a statement and play many more matches like today. They’re the matches that I want to be playing.”

It is not the end of Boulter’s Wimbledon, meanwhile, with the Leicestershire player due to contest her second-round mixed doubles match alongside boyfriend Alex De Minaur on Sunday.

“I’m sure tonight Alex will be giving me some words of wisdom,” she said. “I’m going to be ready to go tomorrow and enjoying myself and having fun. It will be a great way to end Wimbledon, for sure.”

Rybakina was delighted with her performance and she moves on to a fourth-round clash against 13th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia.

Andy Murray will try to join Liam Broady and Katie Boulter in the third round of Wimbledon when his compelling duel with Stefanos Tsitsipas resumes on Friday.

On the eve of the 10th anniversary of his first title at the All England Club, Murray rolled back the years with a performance showcasing all his famous grit, skill and grass-court nous to lead 6-7 (3) 7-6 (2) 6-4.

There were boos when it was announced the match would be halted with 20 minutes still to go until the 11pm curfew but Murray was probably not too disappointed after a hugely concerning moment at set point when the Scot screamed in pain and fell to the ground clutching his left groin.

Mercifully he quickly got to his feet and clinched the set with a serve that drew a Tsitsipas error, and the hope must be he has not done anything that could jeopardise his chances.

The match did not begin until gone 7.30pm, mostly as a result of the win of Broady’s life, with the 29-year-old outlasting world number four Ruud to clinch a 6-4 3-6 4-6 6-3 6-0 victory.

The win over Ruud, who has made the finals of Roland Garros and the US Open during the past 12 months, was even sweeter for the Stockport left-hander given it took place in front of a buoyant Centre Court crowd.

“It was a pretty terrifying, exhilarating experience coming out at Centre Court on Wimbledon, but it’s been my dream since I was five-years-old,” said Broady.

“I played on Court One in the finals of the juniors (in 2011). I was a set and a break up. I completely choked it, completely guffed it. That has kind of haunted me my entire career, to be honest.

“It always bothered me coming back, playing on the bigger courts and never really feeling like I was comfortable and had performed. That’s why it felt good. I feel like it’s taken a monumental effort for me personally to be able to win a match on Centre Court at Wimbledon.”

Like Broady, British number one Boulter is through to the third round for the second consecutive year after a 6-0 3-6 6-3 win over Viktoriya Tomova, and will meet last year’s winner Elena Rybakina.

“I think it’s a super great opportunity for me,” she said. “I’ve got nothing to lose. She’s clearly the defending champion for a reason.

“I’m going to have a swing and go for it. I’ve got a lot of tennis behind me. It’s time for me to test my skills against an incredible champion. I think I’m playing really well. I feel very comfortable.”

Jan Choinski was the only British singles player to lose, the German-born 27-year-old going out 6-4 6-4 7-6 (3) to his former junior doubles partner Hubert Hurkacz.

Choinski hopes to improve his ranking enough to earn direct entry in 12 months’ time, saying: “I would be very happy coming back next year. Maybe even without needing a wild card for the main draw, try my best to get my ranking to a position where I can enter the tournament by myself.”

Katie Boulter says she will have nothing to lose when she gets a shot at defending champion Elena Rybakina at Wimbledon.

The British number one is through to the third round for the second consecutive year after a 6-0 3-6 6-3 win over Viktoriya Tomova, and will meet last year’s winner, probably on Centre Court, on Saturday.

“I think it’s a super great opportunity for me. I’ve got nothing to lose. She’s clearly the defending champion for a reason,” said British number one Boulter.

“I’m going to have a swing and go for it. I’ve got a lot of tennis behind me. It’s time for me to test my skills against an incredible champion.”

Boulter looked set to breeze through her second-round match against Bulgarian Tomova after wrapping up the first set in 27 minutes.

But the 26-year-old from Leicester put her family, as well as boyfriend and men’s 15th seed Alex De Minaur, through the wringer when Tomova hit back to take the second and level the match.

“Do my family get nervous? I don’t know. I’m sure they do,” added Boulter. “My grandpa spends a lot of time actually cramping with nerves. When I see him walk off, I know he’s struggling!

“Obviously I’ve kind of been in their shoes a little bit more watching Alex. I hate every minute of it because it is so stressful.”

Back-to-back net cords helped Boulter break for 2-0 in the decider and after that second-set wobble, she regained her composure and asserted herself on the contest once more.

The Boulter serve was back on song, but she needed to come out on the right end of an epic 24-shot rally before converting a third match point with her 36th winner to complete a fine victory.

“I think I’m playing really well. I’ve played a lot of matches on the grass. I feel very comfortable,” she said.

“It’s always a tough match on grass when you’re playing people like I am today. They’re going to come back at you with a lot more trouble. I have to find ways to win.

“A lot of it is my self-belief. A lot of matches I’ve really drawn from recently to help me get over the line. I definitely did that again today, as well as the British crowd.”

Katie Boulter was the sole British winner at Wimbledon on a day affected by rain and protesters.

The British number one saw her match disrupted by the second Just Stop Oil incursion of the day on to Court 18 but it did not hamper Boulter, who won five points in a row when play resumed to take the first set against Daria Saville.

The pair had begun their match on Tuesday morning before rain intervened and picked it up again with Boulter 6-5 down in the opening set.

Having come through the tie-break against Australian Saville, who is working her way back from a serious knee injury, Boulter pulled away to win 7-6 (4) 6-2.

She said of the protest, which saw a man run on to the court and scatter confetti and jigsaw pieces: “It was obviously a little bit of a shock to the system. I think we both handled it really well. It’s a really unfortunate situation for everyone.”

Boulter’s good friend Jodie Burrage was the first British player in action in round two but her Centre Court debut ended rather too swiftly in a 6-0 6-2 loss to 11th seed Daria Kasatkina.

“It was a good experience,” she said. “Obviously not the result that I wanted. The first set was pretty brutal. But all in all, you dream to be out on Centre Court.”

Arthur Fery acquitted himself very well on his Wimbledon debut, pushing third seed Daniil Medvedev in an entertaining clash on Court One before going down 7-5 6-4 6-3.

The 20-year-old is likely to skip his final year of studies at Stanford University to turn professional, saying: “Experiences like I had today make me push towards going pro.

“I feel like it could be a pretty standard thing in the coming years to play in these tournaments on the big courts. I feel more and more ready as the years go by to switch to the pro career.”

Fellow wild card George Loffhagen was unable to quite match his first-set efforts on Tuesday as he fell to a 7-6 (4) 6-3 6-2 loss to sixth seed Holger Rune but the 22-year-old’s appetite has also been whetted.

“To just see guys like this, that you see on the TV all the time, it definitely gives you a lot of motivation to work hard and hopefully one day get here without wild cards or anything,” he said.

Heather Watson reached the fourth round of a grand slam for the first time here last year but she was also a first-round faller, beaten 6-2 7-5 by 10th seed Barbora Krejcikova.

“I feel like I was playing much better this year than I was last year,” said Watson. “It just happens with draws sometimes.”

Sonay Kartal was the final home singles player to make it out on to court and she was overpowered by 25th seed Madison Keys in a 6-0 6-3 defeat.

Katie Boulter expects Wimbledon to beef up their security after her first-round match with Daria Saville was disrupted by the second Just Stop Oil protest of the day.

The British number one was on Court 18 when an activist ran on and threw orange confetti and jigsaw pieces just two hours after two people had done the same thing.

It came at a tricky moment for her as she trailed 4-2 in a first-set tie-break, but, having helped with the clean-up operation on the court, Boulter won the first nine points after the resumption which set up a 7-6 (4) 6-2 victory.

She admitted to being in “shock” at what happened, but thinks the tournament will react accordingly.

Asked if she was worried, the 26-year-old replied: “Definitely, you never know what it is. I think I heard the crowd before I saw anything.

“Then I realised what it was because I saw it in the previous match.

“It was obviously a little bit of a shock to the system. I think we both handled it really well. It’s a really unfortunate situation for everyone.

“I wouldn’t say I felt in danger. I was quite far away from it. I was walking the opposite side.

“I’m pretty sure there will be a reaction to what’s been happening and there will be more security in place or whatever they need to do to ensure that it doesn’t happen again.

“I’m not worried about it. I’m just going to be focusing on myself. I’m going to keep playing tennis. That’s where I’m going to be. Yeah, hopefully we roll into a few more days.”

Boulter was followed on to Court 18 later in the day by her boyfriend Alex De Minaur after it was announced the pair would be playing mixed doubles together.

She is hoping to avoid any on-court domestics but thinks their relationship might be tested.

“I was privileged enough to ask him and he said yes,” Boulter said. “I think it’s something we’ve both wanted to do for quite some time.

“I think we’re both going to really enjoy it and cherish it. It’s not often that you get to have that experience together, especially at Wimbledon.

“We’re going to go out there and have a swing. We’ve got nothing to lose, so I’m looking forward to it.

“I think it’s going to be a experience. It’s going to test our relationship. I don’t doubt that for a minute.

“It’s a totally different vibe going on the court with him. I think we bring the best out of each other, in terms of tennis, on and off the court. I think we’re going to have a couple of smiles on our faces, enjoying ourselves.”

British number one Katie Boulter did not allow another Just Stop Oil protest to get in her way of a place in the second round at Wimbledon after a comfortable victory over Daria Saville.

Boulter was trailing 4-2 in the first-set tie-break when a protester ran on to Court 18 and threw orange confetti and jigsaw pieces just two hours after a first protest on the same court.

But after a small delay, Boulter won the following five points to claim the first set and then raced through the second set to claim a 7-6 (4) 6-2 win against her Australian opponent.

The 26-year-old is enjoying an impressive run, having won her maiden WTA Tour title in Nottingham at the start of the grass-court season, and as the highest ranked Briton she will have designs on a deep run at her home grand slam.

She had to do it the hard way, though, as she had to resume the match – that was suspended 28 hours earlier due to bad rain – serving to stay in the first set, but delivered a service hold to love.

But after just 10 points of the resumption, and trailing 4-2 in the tie-break, a protester ran onto court and play was suspended again.

Along with Saville, she helped the ground staff in the clean-up operation and the mini-break seemed to work wonders for her as she reeled off five successive points in the tie-break to claim the first set.

Four more followed as she won the first game of the second set to love and that set the tone for what turned out to be a comfortable afternoon.

She won four of the next six games before serving out an impressive victory.

A showcourt appearance will probably now lie in wait in her second round match against Bernarda Pera or Viktoriya Tomova.

British number one Katie Boulter will play mixed doubles with Australian boyfriend Alex De Minaur at Wimbledon.

The pair are one of the highest-profile couples in tennis and, having supported each other court-side on many occasions, they will now be on the same side of the net for the first time.

Boulter and De Minaur, who will face Australian duo Storm Hunter and John Peers in the first round, are not the only off-court couple in the draw.

World number five Stefanos Tsitsipas and Spain’s Paula Badosa, who recently made their relationship public, are also playing together and will take on top seeds Austin Krajicek and Jessica Pegula.

Other notable pairings are all-British duos Heather Watson and Joe Salisbury and Jodie Burrage and Lloyd Glasspool, while Jamie Murray will play with American Taylor Townsend.

Britain’s Neal Skupski and American Desirae Krawczyk, meanwhile, are bidding for their third successive title.

British number one Katie Boulter insists successive first-round defeats have not dented her confidence ahead of Wimbledon following an early exit at Eastbourne.

Boulter was flying high after claiming her maiden WTA tour title at Nottingham on June 18 and expressed ambitions of one day becoming the world’s top-ranked player in an interview published on Monday.

But on Tuesday she failed to take her chances and was second best in a 6-4 7-5 defeat to world number 30 Petra Martic in the Rothesay International.

The 26-year-old’s loss in two hours and five minutes at a blustery Devonshire Park followed last week’s premature departure from the Rothesay Classic in Birmingham to limit her preparations for SW19.

“It wasn’t bad tennis – I’m playing someone ranked 30 in the world, I’m having a go at her,” said Boulter, who was initially drawn to face world number 10 Barbora Krejcikova before the withdrawal of reigning Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina led to a reshuffle.

“Of course it was tough conditions and we could have that at any tournament, you could have that at Wimbledon, and I have to be ready for it and try and play the best I can on the day.

“Ultimately her experience showed today and she played better in the biggest moments.

“I feel like I’m playing some really good tennis. I’ve practised unbelievably well every single day this week. I’ve played seven matches going into the grass, I’m very happy with where I’m at.

“I don’t think I’ve lost any confidence this last couple of weeks just because I lost to higher-ranked players. I really don’t feel that at all.”

Heather Watson suffered elimination shortly after Boulter following defeat to Italian Camila Giorgi.

Watson, one of two lucky losers to benefit from the withdrawals of reigning champion Petra Kvitova (fatigue) and Anastasia Potapova (right shoulder), lost 6-3 6-4.

“I was prepared because yesterday I heard Kvitova wasn’t going to play,” said Watson. “I was very happy that I had another opportunity, but she was too good today.”

In the men’s draw, Liam Broady won the battle of the Britons by beating fellow Wimbledon wildcard Jan Choinski in straight sets.

The British number five, ranked 147 in the world, 20 places above Choinski, eased through 6-3 6-4 after breaking serve at the first opportunity in each set.

German-born Choinski briefly threatened a comeback following a break of his own in the sixth game of the second, but Broady immediately hit back before capitalising on his third match point.

The 29-year-old from Stockport will face Mikael Ymer of Sweden in the next round after he defeated Dutch ninth seed Botic van de Zandschulp 3-6 6-4 6-2.

Elsewhere, last year’s runner-up Jelena Ostapenko set up a last-16 clash with Britain’s Harriet Dart.

The Birmingham champion defeated lucky loser Barbora Strycova, who had replaced the absent Kvitova, 6-4 6-3.

World number seven Coco Gauff will play Britain’s Jodie Burrage in round two after she cruised past fellow American Bernarda Pera 6-3 6-2.

Also on Tuesday, former Wimbledon and US Open finalist Ons Jabeur overcame Italy’s Jasmine Paolini 6-3 6-2, second seed Caroline Garcia beat American Madison Brengle 6-1 7-5 and Beatriz Haddad Maia battled back to triumph 3-6 6-3 7-6 (3) against Marie Bouzkova.

Katie Boulter reflected on a “special” moment as she won her first WTA Tour title at her home tournament in Nottingham.

Boulter beat Jodie Burrage 6-3 6-3 in the first all-British final at this level since 1977 to cement her position as British number one and surge up to a career-high 77 in the rankings.

The 26-year-old has travelled from her Leicestershire home to the Nottingham tennis centre since she was four years old, so to win here makes it extra special.

“I actually found some photos of me at the beginning of the week where I was training here as a ‘tiny topper’ and I looked so happy and like I was having the time of my life,” she said.

“I tried to remind myself before the final that that little girl still loves playing tennis and just enjoys every single moment she is out on court. I am very proud of myself to be in that position, whatever happened.

“I have so many special feelings, I am staying at home, mum’s cooking makes all the difference. It does feel very special because it is my home tournament.

“I dreamed of this moment, to win this tournament, as a little girl when I was four years old.

“Having come here as a fan and now as a player and somehow finding a way to win it means more than everything to me.”

Victory completed a British double as Andy Murray won the men’s Challenger Tour event.

Despite defeat, it was also a breakout week for Burrage in reaching her first final, and with three Britons making the last four, it was a strong response to criticism for the lack of British women in the French Open singles last month.

Indeed, it is their best showing in a tournament since Virginia Wade and Sue Barker were at the top of the women’s game in the 1970s.

And Boulter, who said she will celebrate with a meal out at the pub, hopes this can be just the beginning for her.

“I’m at a career high and really happy but not content and have a long way to go,” she said. “My aim is not to be top 100, it’s to be 50, 40, 30 and ever since I broke through the first time I believed I had the game to become that player and that will always be my main focus.

“Hopefully I can find some consistency and make this week in, week out. My challenge is to find consistency and I’m proud to have brought that every week.

“I played lights-out today and went for the title, wanted that trophy, and told myself I had to back myself to win it.

“I will be sleeping with my trophy tonight and it’s nice to have some reward that I can look back on. Next week will be about resetting and I will be ready for Birmingham – that’s my job.”

Burrage has had some long matches this week and after a recent injury said she was “hanging by a thread” physically, but she is also taking the positives.

“A bit gutted today, a tough, tough match, Boults played absolutely incredibly so credit to her, for me this has been such a positive week,” she said.

“I have beaten some really good players, proved some things to myself, so I will only take the positives.

“I will take positives from this and confidence from it and hopefully play some good tennis in the coming months.”

Katie Boulter won her first WTA Tour title after beating fellow Briton Jodie Burrage in the Rothesay Nottingham Open final.

Boulter, who is from Leicester and considers this her home tournament, beat Burrage 6-3 6-3 in the first all-British final at this level since 1977.

She had only reached a quarter-final before but now follows Johanna Konta as a British winner here, cementing her position as British number one and surging up the rankings to inside the top 80.

It also completed a British double as Andy Murray won the men’s Challenger Tour event.

Despite defeat, it was also a breakout week for Burrage in reaching her first final, and with three Britons making the last four, it was a strong response to the criticism for the lack of British women in the French Open singles last month.

Indeed, it is their best showing in a tournament since Virginia Wade and Sue Barker were at the top of the women’s game in the 1970s.

Playing at Nottingham has always meant a lot to Boulter, with her mum and granddad able to watch, and she made sure this was going to be her moment from the off as she surged into a 3-0 lead in the first set thanks to an early break.

Burrage has had some long matches this week and after a recent injury said she was “hanging by a thread” physically, and she struggled to match her compatriot throughout.

Boulter broke again but she missed her first chance to serve out the set only to quickly settle any nerves by breaking Burrage for a third time to take the opening set.

Another early break in the second set tightened her grip on the match and it never loosened, claiming victory and her maiden title on her second championship point.

There was a warm embrace between the British pair at the end as Boulter enjoyed her moment.

Katie Boulter produced a gutsy display against Ashlyn Krueger but failed to serve out for the match as she was beaten in the second qualifying round for the French Open.

On a difficult day for Britons attempting to progress into the Roland Garros main draw, Boulter joined Harriet Dart, Fran Jones, Liam Broady, Ryan Peniston and Jan Choinski in losing in Paris on Wednesday.

It means only Cameron Norrie, Dan Evans, Kyle Edmund and Jack Draper will fly the flag for Britain in the second major of 2023, following Andy Murray’s withdrawal and Emma Raducanu’s recent fitness woes.

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Boutler had been seeded 24th for qualifying but lost out 2-6 6-2 6-7 (6) to Krueger after a lengthy battle.

American Krueger claimed the opener before Boulter hit back to level, but then quickly found herself 5-2 down in the third set.

The British number three fought back to reel off four consecutive games to give herself the chance to serve out and progress into the final qualifying round but Krueger forced the tie-breaker.

It was then the teenager from Missouri, who had beaten Lily Miyazaki on Tuesday, who held her nerve to set up a third qualifying round meeting with Storm Sanders.

Boulter’s fellow British hopeful Jones saw her aspirations of making a first French Open appearance end after she had to retire during her match with Ylena In-Albon.

Jones, who suffers from a congenital condition which means she has three fingers and a thumb on each hand, three toes on one foot and four toes on the other, was left in tears as she had to retire due to an apparent shoulder injury when 4-1 down during the first set.

Dart also exited in the second qualifying stage after she was beaten by France’s Elsa Jacquemot 1-6 6-1 6-2.

It meant the trio joined Heather Watson, Katie Swan, Sonay Kartal and Miyazaki in failing to qualify for the French Open meaning there will be no British female involved in the singles’ event at Roland Garros.

Broady, the British male number five, also suffered defeat on the clay on Wednesday but only following a back and forth clash with Emilio Nava.

Broady lost an even opener before he hit back in style to inflict a bagel on Nava in the second. American Nava regrouped though and clinched the third to progress 6-4 0-6 6-3.

World number 191 Peniston was another to be edged out in third following a 2-6 6-2 6-4 loss to Romanian eighth seed Radu Albot.

Meanwhile, Choinski was beaten 3-6 6-4 6-0 by Sebastian Ofner.