The 2025 Wimbledon Championships have kicked off with a series of stunning upsets, and few were more surprising than the first-round exit of World No. 2 Coco Gauff, the reigning French Open champion. The 21-year-old American, who burst onto the scene at Wimbledon in 2019 by defeating Venus Williams at age 15, fell 7-6(3), 6-1 to Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska on No. 1 Court. The defeat marked Gauff’s second first-round loss at Wimbledon in three years, prompting fellow American star Jessica Pegula to voice her empathy for Gauff’s struggles, particularly the grueling demands of transitioning from clay to grass. Pegula, the No. 3 seed, also suffered an early exit, falling 6-2, 6-3 to Italy’s Elisabetta Cocciaretto in just 58 minutes, making their shared disappointment a poignant moment for American tennis.
“It’s a tricky surface,” Pegula said, reflecting on the challenges of grass-court tennis, where the ball bounces lower and moves slower compared to clay or hard courts. “There’s a lot of weird points and weird momentum swings. If someone’s serving really, really well, sometimes there’s not much you can do.” Her words captured the essence of Wimbledon’s unpredictability, a sentiment echoed by Gauff, who admitted to feeling “mentally overwhelmed” after her French Open triumph just three weeks prior. The rapid shift from the clay of Roland Garros to the grass of Wimbledon, coupled with a whirlwind media tour, left Gauff with little time to adjust. “I didn’t feel like I had enough time to celebrate and also get back into it,” Gauff said, her voice tinged with emotion as she fought back tears in her post-match press conference.
Gauff’s performance against Yastremska was uncharacteristically error-prone, with nine double faults and 29 unforced errors, including just six winners. Yastremska, ranked No. 42, was relentless, slamming 16 winners and capitalizing on Gauff’s shaky serve. “I was really on fire,” Yastremska said, her confidence boosted by recent grass-court success, including a final in Nottingham and a quarterfinal in Eastbourne. For Gauff, the loss was a stark contrast to her dominant 2019 Wimbledon run, where she reached the fourth round as a teenager. “I just feel a little bit disappointed in how I showed up today,” she admitted, acknowledging that grass remains her toughest surface, the only major where she has yet to reach the quarterfinals.
Pegula, who described her opponent’s performance as “insane,” was equally baffled by her own defeat. “I haven’t lost first round of a slam in a very long time, so that sucks,” she said candidly. The 31-year-old, coming off a grass-court title in Germany, was expected to make a deep run, but Cocciaretto’s aggressive play disrupted her rhythm. The early exits of Gauff and Pegula marked a historic low for American women’s tennis, as it was the first time since the Open Era began in 1968 that two of the top three women’s seeds were eliminated in the first round of a Grand Slam. The carnage didn’t stop there, with other top seeds like No. 5 Qinwen Zheng and No. 9 Paula Badosa also falling, underscoring the chaotic nature of this year’s tournament.
Gauff’s struggles were compounded by the mental toll of her recent success. After defeating World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka to win the French Open, Gauff faced intense media obligations, including appearances on major U.S. talk shows. “I think most of the seeds are going deeper in Roland Garros, and then you have to come and adjust to grass,” she explained, highlighting the tight three-week turnaround. Her limited grass-court preparation—only two days of practice—left her vulnerable against Yastremska’s fiery play. Despite the setback, Gauff remained forward-looking, noting, “Maybe losing here first round isn’t the worst thing in the world because I have time to reset.” Her focus now shifts to the hard-court season, with the U.S. Open, where she won in 2023, as a key target.
Pegula’s support for Gauff reflects the camaraderie among American players, who have faced intense pressure to fill the void left by legends like Serena Williams. Gauff, who idolizes the Williams sisters, expressed gratitude for their influence, recalling her 2019 Wimbledon win over Venus: “I was just telling her thank you for everything she’s done for the sport.” As both players regroup, their shared experience at Wimbledon 2025 underscores the unpredictable nature of grass-court tennis and the resilience required to navigate its challenges. With Gauff vowing to adjust her preparation and Pegula aiming to bounce back, American tennis fans are hopeful for a strong rebound at the upcoming hard-court majors.
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