Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula Suffer Upsets at Wimbledon

Coco Gauff has become just the third woman in the Open era to lose in the first round at Wimbledon right after winning the championship at the French Open, eliminated 7-6 (3), 6-1 by unseeded Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine on Tuesday morning (AEST).

The number two-ranked Gauff made mistake after mistake at No.1 Court, finishing with just six winners and a total of 29 unforced errors that included nine double-faults. She joined another highly seeded American, number three Jessica Pegula, in bowing out on day two of the tournament.

Yastremska, who accumulated 16 winners, said, \"I was really on fire. Playing against Coco, it is something special.\"

It was just a little more than three weeks ago that Gauff was celebrating her second grand slam title by getting past world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the final on the red clay of Roland-Garros. The 21-year-old American also took home the trophy from the 2023 US Open.

But even though Gauff's big breakthrough came at the All England Club at age 15 in 2019, when she beat Venus Williams in her opening match and made it all the way to the fourth round, the grass-court tournament has proved to be her least-successful major. It's the only Slam where Gauff hasn't made at least the semifinals. Indeed, she has yet to get past the fourth round and now has been sent home in the first round twice in the past three years.

The transition from clay to grass has proven tough for most players, and the last woman to win the French Open and Wimbledon in the same season was Serena Williams a decade ago. Still, since the Open era began in 1968, only Justine Henin in 2005 and Francesca Schiavone in 2010 went from holding the trophy in Paris to exiting immediately in London.

Dayana Yastremska celebrates after sending Coco Gauff packing in the first round. (Getty Images: Adam Davy)

Gauff was never quite at her best against Yastremska, who had lost all three of their previous match-ups and currently is ranked 42nd. Yastremska's best Grand Slam result was making it all the way to the semifinals on the Australian Open's hard courts last year, although she entered this event with a record of only 10-11 in first-round matches at majors. Gauff, by contrast, was 20-3 at that stage, including a loss to Sofia Kenin at Wimbledon in 2023.

Yastremska's deepest run at Wimbledon was making the fourth round in 2019, although she did get to the final of the junior event in 2016. She recently reached her first tournament final on grass, at a smaller event in Nottingham, which she said gave her confidence heading to the All England Club. \"I love playing on grass. I feel that this year we are kind of friends,\" Yastremska said. \"I hope the road will continue for me here.\"

The women's singles draw has been blown wide open with Gauff, Pegula and fifth seed Zheng Qinwen all bounced on day two. Pegula, who arrived off the back of winning the Bad Homburg warm-up event, was KO'd by unheralded Elisabetta Cocciaretto, while Zheng, the reigning Olympic champion, lost to Czech Republic's Katerina Siniakova 7-5, 4-6, 6-1.

The upsets appear to have left the way clear for world number one Aryna Sabalenka to add the Wimbledon title to her previous US and Australian Open wins. But given the surprises already many players will fancy their chances. Cocciaretto, ranked 116, was unperturbed by her status and form in dismissing the third seeded Pegula 6-2, 6-3.

The Italian, whose ranking has dipped in recent months, said she had told herself to \"be more aggressive and go for it, don't think about losing or winning the point.\" \"For this to happen today, it's disappointing. I don't know how else to put it,\" said Pegula, who hit five winners while making 24 unforced errors. \"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.\"

The upsets also continued in the men's draw, with number three seed Alexander Zverev crashing out in the opening round. Zverev, who has never won a title on grass, nor gone beyond the last 16 at Wimbledon, lost 7-6 (7-3), 6-7 (8-10), 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 6-4 to Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech in a match suspended late on Monday night and resumed at one-set all.

Rinderknech, 72 in the world, had only previously won one match at Wimbledon in four visits, but sealed victory with his third match point. Last year's semi-finalist Lorenzo Musetti also made an unexpected exit, beaten by Georgian qualifier Nikoloz Basilashvili. Seventh seed Musetti, playing his first match since retiring in the French Open semi-final against Carlos Alcaraz with a leg injury, never looked settled against the world No.126 and went down 6-2, 4-6, 7-5, 6-1.

\"Really bad day at the office, I came here at the last minute and of course I didn't have much good feelings with my game and honestly the physical side and energy and whatever it takes to play a match like this,\" he said. It was 33-year-old Basilashvili's first win in a Grand Slam since reaching the Wimbledon third round in 2022. There were no such upsets for world number one Jannik Sinner and seven-time Wimbledon champ Novak Djokovic. Sinner cruised past fellow Italian Luca Nardi 6-4, 6-3, 6-0, while registered a 6-1, 6-7 (7-9), 6-2, 6-2 win over France's Alexandre Muller.