Coco Gauff fought back tears in her press conference as her bid for a third Grand Slam title fell at the first hurdle.
The no.2 seed, who was celebrating French Open glory just weeks ago, was bundled out of Wimbledon in straight sets by Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska.
Gauff’s outing in SW19 was over quicker than she imaginedGettyYastremska, ranked 42nd in the world, needed only one hour and 19 minutes to dispatch Gauff 7-6 (7-3), 6-1 on No.1 court.
Gauff’s exit also helped create history, as she was the eighth player seeded in the top 10 to be eliminated from Wimbledon in the first round of this year’s tournament.
It is the highest number of first round exits from top ten seeds at a single grand slam in the Open Era.
Gauff joined Alexander Zverev, Jessica Pegula, Qinwen Zheng, Lorenzo Musetti, Holger Rune, Daniil Medvedev and Paula Badosa on the first round scrapheap at the All England Club.
The American contributed to another slice of unwanted history as she became the third French Open women’s singles champion to have lost in the first round of Wimbledon in the Open Era.
Justine Henin and Francesca Schiavone, who won at Roland Garros in 2005 and 2010 respectively, were the other two stars who failed to back up their heroics in the French capital.
It was an error-riddled performance from Gauff as she recorded a nightmare nine double faults against the Ukrainian.
Gauff also struggled to find her groove offensively with only six winners across the entire match compared to Yastremska’s tally of 16.
Despite having failed to beat Gauff in their last three meetings, 2024 Australian Open semi-finalist Yastremska displayed plenty of bravery from the outset and it paid off.
She leapt out to a 5-2 lead and looked to be on course to win only her second-ever set against Gauff.
Yastremska picked up her first career win over Gauff at the fourth time of askingAFP via GettyHowever, Gauff showed plenty of grit to level the opening set at 5-5.
The pair traded games but it was Yastremska who prevailed in the tie-break to take a surprise lead.
It seemed as if losing the tiebreak completely knocked the stuffing out of Gauff as Yastremska poured on the pressure across the court.
With her lethal groundstrokes and booming serves, Yastremska proved to be a handful Gauff could not contain as she cruised to a dominant second set and ultimately the win.
The 25-year-old, who reached the final of the girls’ singles at Wimbledon as a junior in 2016, could barely contain her delight at progressing into the second round.
In her press conference, Gauff teared up as the emotions got the better of her.
Gauff was left to rue a costly serving performance against YastremskaGetty“I’m trying to be positive. After the match I definitely was struggling in the locker room. I don’t like losing. I know my team is gonna tell me ‘you did well at Roland Garros. Don’t be so upset’.
“But I don’t really like losing. I feel a bit disappointed with how I showed up today.
“I could’ve been a bit better in those tough tiebreaker moments. Especially after Roland Garros where I feel like I learned a lot in those tiebreakers.
“So yeah. Obviously I’m not gonna dwell on this too long, because I wanna do well at US Open.
“Maybe losing here first round isn’t the worst thing in the world because I have some time to reset. But yeah it definitely sucks.”
Gauff went on to explain in more detail about the challenges of going from winning the French Open to playing on the grass at Wimbledon.
Gauff was emotional after her first round defeatShe added: “I feel like mentally I was a bit overwhelmed with everything that came afterwards. I didn’t feel like I had enough time to celebrate and also get back into it.
“But it’s the first time in this experience. Coming off a win and having to play at Wimbledon. I definitely learned a lot of what I would and would not do again.
“But yeah, also, she played great. I saw the draw and knew it would be a tough match for me.
“I played her on clay and that surface suits me a bit better and it was still a tough three setter. I knew today would be tough. I had chances but it is what it is.”
Yastremska will now play qualifier Anastasia Zakharova, who has never competed in the main draw at Wimbledon before, in the second round on Thursday.
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