KATIE BOULTER became the last British player to depart the singles competitions at Wimbledon as she was crushed by defending champion Elena Rybakina.
The Leicester ace – who will bank £131,000 for making the third round – was outclassed and out-served 6-1 6-1 on a half-full Centre Court.
Katie Boulter has crashed out of Wimbledon
Elena Rybakina celebrates after progressing to the Round of 16
The one-sided scoreline was exactly the same at this stage last year when she bombed out against Frenchwoman Harmony Tan.
Yet the British No.1 should not too be disheartened and can take significant confidence from her performances this week.
Especially how she overcame various dramas along the way, which included a surprise visit from a member of the Royal family, a disruptive Just Stop Oil protest and rain delays.
It is just that impressive 6ft Rybakina was an unmovable object down the other end of the court under the closed roof.
And the No.3 seed is in scintillating form as she tries to become the first woman since Serena Williams in 2016 to retain possession of the Venus Rosewater Dish.
Ridiculously, it was 8.55pm when the first serve from Rybakina boomed into Boulter’s direction.
Okay, so the two matches beforehand had taken their time with seven lengthy sets but there was so much faffing around by bungling officials.
Particularly when they closed the roof in the latter stages of the Ons Jabeur and Bianca Andreescu tie and it seemed to take an eternity before the action could resume.
Questions really need to be asked about this standard 1.30pm start on the premier court and whether it should be brought forward by 30 minutes or an hour.
Having waited around all day, the pair had just over two hours to get this done before the 11pm curfew or otherwise they would be returning on Sunday.
Rybakina, 24, represented a huge step up in class compared to what Boulter had faced in the opening two rounds.
Three aces, including one timed at 114mph, whizzed past her ears in the opening few games and the Moscow-born Kazakhstani can certainly strike a tennis ball with real venom and power.
For wildcard entrant Boulter, 26, to have any chance it was imperative that she served well but being broken in games four and six proved to be her undoing in a 26-MINUTE first set.
Rybakina – who once again wore black underwear following the relaxation of the all-white rules – did not let up the pressure in the second set with an early break.
Attempts from the crowd to gee up the home favourite did not work unfortunately and the atmosphere quickly turned flat.
Lots of All England Club Committee Members did not even bother to hang around for this encounter and there were lots of empty seats in and around the Royal Box – which, frankly, was not a good look.
Rybakina will not care much about the lack of attendees and she wrapped up the second set a few minutes shy of an hour to book a date with Brazilian No.13 seed Beatriz Haddad Maia in the last 16 on Monday.
