Wimbledon 2026 results: Katie Swan becomes first British player to reach second round but Katie Boulter loses
Boulter became the 11th British singles player to fall at the first hurdle at Wimbledon after losing 6-2, 6-4 to Italian teenager Tyra Caterina Grant.
Boulter lost in the opening round at Wimbledon for the first time since 2017, and it was her first defeat in the qualifiers at a Grand Slam tournament.
Just 18 days after scoring the biggest win of her career in the rankings, she defeated world number two Elena Rybakina with a dazzling performance at Queen’s.
Looking to push back against unwanted history on the third court, Boulter got off to the worst possible start with the early departure of Grant, who had not played a singles match at any level on grass ahead of Wimbledon qualifiers this year.
Boulter was unable to respond as the opening set slipped away and was unable to recover from another setback early in the second.
The Briton did not force a single break point in the match; Grant cruised to victory comfortably while losing just three points in his last four service games.
Grant, 18, was playing his first Grand Slam main qualifying match after qualifying.
Last year, 13 British players were eliminated in the first round. Not since 1988 have as many as 16 people fallen at the first hurdle.
A total of nine English players will be on the field on the second day at the All England Club.
Also on Tuesday, Jack Pinnington Jones finished his match against American 28th seed Brandon Nakashima with a score of 6-3, 7-6(5), 4-3.
Eastbourne semi-finalist Toby Samuel will face 15th seed Jakub Mensik, while British number two Jan Choinski will face Vit Kopriva.
Jacob Fearnley meets American Alex Michelsen, Arthur Fery faces Damir Dzumhur, Billy Harris faces 19th seed Karen Khachanov and Harry Wendelken faces Valentin Royer.
