THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

June 30, 2021

Katie Boulter

Press Conference

A. SABALENKA/K. Boulter

4-6, 6-3, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. What is your biggest takeaway from your first visit to Centre Court? Now you have a taste of it, would you like to be back there lots of times in the future?

KATIE BOULTER: I think my first and only takeaway is that it's definitely the best court in the world. I've not had a chance to play on it yet, that's my first time. I absolutely loved every minute out there. The British crowd were incredible.

Yeah, I thought it was a really good match, one I won't forget.

Q. She was laying down some absolutely massive serves, I think 190 miles an hour, 170 miles an hour. Do you think that was fundamentally the key difference, her power was just a bit too much?

KATIE BOULTER: Look, I mean, she's clearly a champion for a reason. Those are the people that play the best points at the most important points. She did that today. It got her out of trouble a couple of times.

I obviously felt like I had quite a few breakpoints and didn't manage to take them. I also didn't feel like I gave them away. She had to win them. She won them. Certainly I've got no regrets about that at all.

Obviously I wanted to serve it out, make her win the match at 5-4. It would have been a fun game. But ultimately she played incredibly well today. I've got a lot of positives to take from it.

Q. How much confidence does this give you? You've been in the top 100 before injuries. Taking a player on like that at Centre Court, getting so close, must make you think you can go much further in the future?

KATIE BOULTER: Yeah, definitely. Those are the matches that I play for, the big matches. The matchups, it's really tough. But I felt like I handled it really well. Obviously I was a little bit nervous to start with walking out onto the court. I felt like I was at home straight off the bat. The crowd made me feel so welcome.

Yeah, I thought it was a really good level out there. Obviously I'm gutted not to get the win, but it is what it is. I'll keep building and get the momentum going into the weeks ahead.

Q. How much was your elbow bothering you in the final set? You had the medical timeout. Was it getting worse as the match went on?

KATIE BOULTER: Obviously it's something that I've had to manage this whole entire time. I did feel like I lost a little bit of power on the serve, especially in the last game actually. Not at all to take away from the match. I thought like it held up really well for the whole entire time.

Yeah, I thought I served pretty good. I was happy with where my elbow was it. It seems to be in a good place right now. That's really good news for me.

Q. Can you confirm to us what the problem is with the elbow?

KATIE BOULTER: I'd rather keep that private. It's something that I'm just managing as I go through. Every single tennis player has small injuries, minor problems. We all have to look after them. That's just the way it is.