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Boulter adds to British woe at Wimbledon with first-round exit
Katie Boulter of Great Britain during her Ladies' Singles match against Tyra Caterina Grant of Italy on day two of the 2026 Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, June 30, 2026

KATIE BOULTER joined the exodus of British players at Wimbledon after a comprehensive first-round defeat by teenage qualifier Tyra Caterina Grant.

The 29-year-old from Leicester was Britain’s biggest hope of success this fortnight following Monday’s 10-player wipeout and the withdrawals of Emma Raducanu and Jack Draper.

But British number two Boulter, first up on Court Three, found herself blown away in a hail of blistering winners, a 6-4 6-2 defeat taking just an hour and six minutes.

Grant, 18 and making her grand slam debut, trained with Jannik Sinner as a child and is a potential star in the making, sporting an eye-catching hairstyle of long braids down her back.

An increasingly frustrated Boulter could not read her serves, failing to create a single break point.

At one point she even felt the Hawkeye system was against her, pointedly checking a ball for a white mark after one of six aces flew past her.

Having dropped serve early in the opening set, back-to-back double-faults coughed up a first break in the second and Grant reeled off the final four games for a maiden grand slam win.

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