Katie Boulter was accused of having ‘balltoss-itis’ following the first set of her latest match at Wimbledon. The British star took the opener 7-6 (9-7) against Solana Sierra, despite struggling with her serve for much of the opening stages.
Boulter served a series of double faults, including one on set point. Her woes continued into the second set, with the Argentine breaking twice to win it 6-2 and level the match. By that point, the home hero had served up 10 double faults and made just 58 per cent of her first serves.
It was during the second set that BBC commentator Martina Navratilova frequently referenced Boulter’s inconsistency with her ball toss before serving. Sienna was also erratic on serve, leading to one commentator to quip: “It’s balltoss-itis here at Wimbledon.”
The iconic Navratilova then outlined the technical issue that was seemingly plaguing the 28-year-old. She said: “You know, it is contagious because I hardly ever see people catching the ball. More so now, especially the women.”
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Fittingly, the world No.41 then proceeded to put a second nerve into the net, with the nine-time champion at SW19 adding: “Another double fault there from Boulter. She doesn’t use her hand quite enough.
“She should use more spin on her second serve; that’s where some of those double faults are happening. She’s hitting the net too often but again, that’s because of the toss. Sometimes you’re just chasing it. And you cannot release at the top because sometimes the ball is just too far away. “
Boulter wasn’t able to address the problem in the deciding set, though. She double-faulted again in the opening game and then racked up a 12th as Sierra stormed into a 4-0 lead.
It left the British No.2 on the brink of a shock exit on Court No.1. Expectations have been high of a good run at SW19 after her win over ninth seed Paula Badosa in the opening round.
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