Yrast structure of neutron-rich 53Ti

γ rays from neutron-rich Ti nuclei in the vicinity of N=32 have been studied at Gammasphere using deep-inelastic reactions induced by 48Ca beams on thick 208Pb and 238U targets. The 53Ti yrast cascade was identified for the first time, and the location in energy of states with spin up to I = 21/2 was determined. The excitations of 53Ti provide new tests of effective interactions for full-pf-shell calculations. Comparisons between theory and experiment for the highest spin states in 53Ti favor the recently proposed GXPF1A interaction, which accounts for the appearance of a neutron subshell closure at N=32 in Ti isotopes as well as for the lack of a similar subshell closure at N=34, as predicted by earlier calculations with another interaction.