Coco Gauff has crashed out of Wimbledon in the first round after a shock defeat against Dayana Yastremska. The No.2 seed was one of the favourites for the title but was handed a swift exit
21:22, 01 Jul 2025Updated 21:27, 01 Jul 2025
Coco Gauff(Image: Getty)
Coco Gauff experienced a surprising 7-6 6-1 loss to Dayana Yastremska, resulting in her early exit from Wimbledon in the initial round. The No.2 seed, who was among the favourites for the title, has now become the highest ranked player to be defeated in the opening round.
Originally, Gauff and Yastramska were set to play their match on Centre Court. However, due to Novak Djokovic’s match with Alexandre Muller not starting until 7pm, following Alexander Zverev’s five-set battle against Arthur Rinderknech, their game was forced to move to Court 1.
Yastremska is no stranger to Grand Slam success, having reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open last year and the fourth round of Wimbledon in 2019.
Nevertheless, her victory over Gauff on Wimbledon’s second largest stage was still considered a significant upset, reports the Express.
Yastremska secured her first two break points while leading 3-2, converting at the first attempt with a backhand winner down the line.
The same shot saved her in the subsequent game when Gauff looked poised to break back immediately.
Despite seeing her first set point slip away at 5-4 due to a double fault, Yastremska managed to hold off Gauff, who had won the next two points to break back, shifting the momentum of the match.
However, it was the Ukrainian who showed more courage in the tiebreak, losing just three points.
Yastremska maintained this pressure into the start of the second set, leading 15-40 in the opening game. Although she squandered the first breakpoint with a forehand volley that landed well wide, Gauff handed her the second with a backhand slice into the net.
The second set started poorly for Gauff, with another unforced error into the net giving Yastremska a 2-0 lead.
Later on, Yastremska secured a double break advantage, leading to Gauff’s exit after just one hour and 18 minutes.
The resounding loss was the 21-year-old’s second round-one exit in three years in SW19 following defeat to compatriot Sofia Kenin at this stage in 2023.
Earlier, world number three Jessica Pegula struggled to explain her shock exit as she praised the “insane” performance of opponent Elisabetta Cocciaretto.
Last year’s US Open runner-up was beaten 6-2 6-3 in just 58 minutes as Italian world number 116 Cocciaretto celebrated the greatest win of her career.
Asked what went wrong, the 31-year-old American, who lost in the first round of a grand slam for the first time since the 2020 French Open, replied: “I don’t know. 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.
“It’s really a bummer to lose. I haven’t lost first round of a slam in a very long time, so that sucks.
“I’m upset that I wasn’t able to turn anything around. 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.”