Just three weeks after capturing her second Grand Slam title at the French Open, Coco Gauff suffered a surprising first-round exit at Wimbledon, falling 7-6 (3), 6-1 to unseeded Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska on Tuesday night. With the loss, Gauff becomes only the third woman in the Open era to be eliminated in the opening round at Wimbledon immediately after winning the French Open.
Ranked No. 2 in the world, Gauff struggled throughout the match on No. 1 Court, managing just six winners while committing 29 unforced errors — including nine double-faults.
“Dayana started off playing strong,” Gauff said after the match. “I couldn’t find my footing out there today.”
She wasn’t the only top American to exit early — No. 3 seed Jessica Pegula also lost on Day 2. In total, 23 seeded players (13 men and 10 women) were ousted before the first round concluded, matching the record for most seeds eliminated this early since Grand Slam tournaments began seeding 32 players in 2001.
Reflecting on the short time between tournaments, Gauff admitted the quick turnaround may have affected her readiness. “I feel like mentally I was a little bit overwhelmed with everything that came afterwards,” the 21-year-old said. “So I didn’t feel like I had enough time to celebrate and also get back into it.”
