Coco Gauff has continued her draught of having never reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals, with the world No.2 responding to ‘disrespectful’ comments about players lower down in the WTA rankings.
Gauff was beaten in the fourth round by compatriot and 19th seed Emma Navarro, 6-4 6-3, continuing the downfall of seeds in the women’s Wimbledon singles draw this year.
The American was the highest ranked player remaining in the tournament and one of only two top 10 players left in the bottom half of the draw.
However, Gauff claimed that this was not on her mind after losing to Navarro on Centre Court, after being asked about the pressure of being second seed.
“Not really. Because I’ve seen and played so many slams where anybody can win,” said Gauff. “And the seed is just a number. It’s just an advantage so you don’t play another seed first round. It doesn’t mean you can’t lose. We’ve seen how a lot of seeds drop out. We’ve seen defending champions drop out. It means nothing. I think especially on my side of the draw.. even though the players might not be as known they’re still talented.
“I think that’s something that people… fans of the game are a little bit disrespectful when it comes to other players on tour. Maybe the ranking isn’t there. But the level is there. And they’re here for a reason. They deserve their spot. There’s no easy draw. There’s no cake walk or anything. This is competitive sport. We all want to win.”
The US Open champion added, “I’ve been there when I was ranked whatever or unknown. It would be disrespectful for another player to be like ‘Yeah this girl is ranked whatever and she’s this age.. I should be able to win.’ That’s not the case. I don’t take my seed into account when it comes to anything. I take every match with a very competitive mindset regardless of the ranking or the person I’m playing against.”
Although Gauff is no longer in the Wimbledon singles draw, she is still competing in doubles alongside Jessica Pegula.
The bottom half of the women’s singles draw is completely wide open now, with Jasmine Paolini the only player to have reached a Grand Slam singles final before. However, Coco Gauff is completely right about what she said about rankings, as they are really only a guideline. And it is not like Emma Navarro is an unknown quantity or a low ranked player, with the American making huge strides over the past couple of years.
Coco Gauff at Wimbledon
Gauff made her Grand Slam main draw debut at Wimbledon as a 15-year-old back in 2019, progressing all the way to the fourth round.
However, the grass court major is now statistically her weakest Grand Slam tournament:
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