Jessica Pegula, the world No. 3 and one of America’s brightest tennis hopes, suffered a stunning first-round defeat at Wimbledon 2025, falling 6-2, 6-3 to Italy’s Elisabetta Cocciaretto, ranked No. 116, in a mere 58 minutes on Court 2. The loss, which occurred on July 1, 2025, marked Pegula’s earliest Grand Slam exit in five years, since the 2020 French Open, and was labeled by the 31-year-old as her “worst result of the year.” Coming off a commanding grass-court title win over Iga Swiatek at the Bad Homburg Open just days earlier, Pegula was a favorite to make a deep run at SW19. Instead, her defeat to the aggressive Cocciaretto has reignited questions about her ability to translate WTA Tour success into Grand Slam glory, leaving fans and analysts reeling from one of the tournament’s biggest upsets.
Pegula’s performance was uncharacteristically error-prone, with 24 unforced errors and only five winners, a stark contrast to Cocciaretto’s 17 winners and relentless baseline attack. “I don’t know,” Pegula said when asked what went wrong, her frustration evident. “She played absolutely incredible tennis. Do I think I played the best match ever? No. But I definitely don’t think I was playing bad.” The American struggled with her serve, landing just 52% of first serves and winning only 42% of second-serve points, while failing to create a single break point. Cocciaretto, seizing the moment, played with fearless aggression, taking the ball early and dominating the baseline, a strategy that left Pegula stranded several feet behind the court. “I’m upset that I wasn’t able to turn anything around,” Pegula admitted. “But at the same time, I do feel like she played kind of insane. Hats off to her. Kudos to her for playing at a high level that I couldn’t match it today.”
The defeat is a bitter setback for Pegula, who has long lingered in the world’s top 10 but struggled to break through at Majors. Her career highlight remains the 2024 US Open final, where she fell to Aryna Sabalenka, marking her only appearance beyond a Grand Slam quarterfinal. With seven Major quarterfinals—three at the Australian Open (2021-2023), two at the US Open (2022, 2024), and one each at the French Open (2022) and Wimbledon (2023)—Pegula’s consistency is undeniable, yet her inability to advance further has drawn scrutiny. “I haven’t lost first round of a Slam in a very long time, so that sucks,” she lamented, recalling her early career struggles with first-round exits. “I used to kind of have trouble getting past the first round for a while. I remember I had a really tough match and I just told myself, I’m done losing first round, I’m not losing first round. It’s disappointing. I don’t know how else to put it.”
Pegula’s 2025 season had been a triumph, with three singles titles in Charleston, Austin, and Bad Homburg, and a 38-9 record entering Wimbledon. Her Bad Homburg victory, where she outclassed Swiatek 6-4, 7-5, fueled expectations of a strong grass-court campaign, given her 62% career win rate at Wimbledon, her lowest among the Majors but still respectable. However, the quick turnaround from Germany to London may have contributed to her lackluster performance, with social media posts noting her sluggish movement and lack of variety against Cocciaretto’s dynamic play. “She’s slow afoot… like Ostapenko… Crap at the net,” one observer remarked, highlighting perceived weaknesses in Pegula’s grass-court game.
Cocciaretto, who previously fell to Pegula 6-4, 6-0 at Wimbledon 2023, celebrated her third second-round appearance at the All England Club, advancing to face either Katy Volynets or Tatjana Maria. For Pegula, the loss opens a critical juncture. At 31, with nine WTA singles titles and a billionaire family background as the daughter of Buffalo Bills owners Terry and Kim Pegula, she faces mounting pressure to claim a Major. Her versatility across surfaces and recent doubles success, including a 2022 French Open final with Coco Gauff, suggest untapped potential. Yet, as she reflected on the defeat, Pegula remained gracious, giving credit to Cocciaretto’s “insane” performance while vowing to regroup for the hard-court season, where her flat, precise groundstrokes typically shine. With the US Open looming, Pegula’s quest for Grand Slam redemption continues, but this Wimbledon upset underscores the fine margins that define her Major journey.
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