Coco Gauff, mentally overwhelmed, falls at Wimbledon to Yastremska

Coco Gauff surprisingly eliminated at Wimbledon

In an unexpected day at Wimbledon, Coco Gauff, the world number two and recent Roland Garros champion, suffered a surprising defeat in the first round against Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine. Gauff, who arrived at the tournament as one of the favorites, could not maintain her level and fell to Yastremska with a score of 7-6 (3), 6-1. This result marks an unusual milestone, as Gauff becomes the third woman in the Open era to lose in the first round of Wimbledon just after winning the championship at the French Open. Gauff’s match was marked by unforced errors, with a total of 29, including nine double faults, which hindered her performance on the court.

Dayana started playing strong. I couldn’t find my rhythm today.

Coco Gauff

In addition to Gauff, another high-ranking American tennis player, Jessica Pegula, was also eliminated on the second day of the tournament. This represents the first time in the Open era that two of the top three seeded women have lost in their opening matches. Gauff acknowledged that the short period of time between her victory at Roland Garros and Wimbledon may have influenced her performance.

I feel like mentally I was a little overwhelmed with everything that came after. I didn’t feel like I had enough time to celebrate and also to get back into it.

Coco Gauff

Despite having had great success at the All England Club at the age of 15, the grass court tournament has proven to be the least successful Grand Slam for Gauff. In fact, this is the second time in the last three years that she has been eliminated in the first round. The transition from clay to grass has been difficult for many players, and the last woman to win the French Open and Wimbledon in the same season was Serena Williams a decade ago. Gauff’s serve was a problem, with only 45% of her first serves in play and multiple double faults.

When I can serve well, and in some games I did, it’s definitely an added threat. I didn’t serve so well.

Coco Gauff

On the other hand, Yastremska, who had lost her previous three encounters against Gauff, showed a great level, accumulating 16 winners.

I was really on fire. Playing against Coco is something special.

Dayana Yastremska

Yastremska, who recently reached her first grass court tournament final in Nottingham, expressed her enthusiasm for playing on grass and her hope to continue her journey in the tournament.