Katie Boulter is ready to take the opportunity to build on her positive Wimbledon run after exiting before the second week.
The British number one gained two very good wins against Daria Saville and Viktoriya Tomova before losing in the third round to defending champion Elena Rybakina.
Boulter was given a harsh lesson by the Kazakh after Rybakina only dropped two games to the world number 89.
Speaking after the match Boulter admitted it was a tough match and reflected on Rybakina’s powerful shot making, “I gave it my best today. I wouldn’t say I really felt like I got into the match fully,” Boulter admitted in her press conference.
“She’s clearly the defending champion for a reason, and I learnt a lot today and that’s what I’m going to have to take from today’s match. 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. You know, 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.”
Despite the heavy defeat, it was an experience of a lifetime for Boulter as she reflected on a positive Wimbledon campaign, “I will always reflect back on something positive,” Boulter explained.
“I think, you know, the crowd are incredible. You know, going out there, every single point they’re behind me and I felt them at all times. 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.
“I loved every single minute. Obviously today was not my day. I have to be accepting of that. It’s part of this sport and ultimately I have to pick myself up and look at the positives. 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.
“I’ve had some seriously positive weeks. I’ve come off the back of five long weeks with no injuries, no issues. They’re the things I’m going to be focusing on and really pushing forward on the rest of the year.”
Speaking of the rest of the year Boulter now has the incentive to take the momentum into the US hard court swing where she will likely be entered into the US Open automatically.
Boulter admitted that the rest of the year is a massive opportunity for her as she looks to build on reaching a career high ranking, “I’ve got virtually 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,” Boulter explained.
“Yeah, I want to compete against the best in the world, and I’m going to have to do that week in, week out. Some days you play good; some days you don’t. Some days they go your way.
“The more matches I play like that, the more confidence and the more information I’ll get about myself and I can try and improve myself.”
Boulter will finish her Wimbledon campaign in mixed doubles alongside boyfriend Alex De Minaur.
