Coco Gauff’s unexpected loss at Wimbledon was shocking. She had drawn tough luck against a house favorite to start off, as she lost in the first round to Dayana Yastremska on Tuesday. She went on to win that match 7-6, 6-1. This loss was a stinging come down for Gauff, who had recently been on a high from her conquest at the French Open. This loss now leaves Gauff as part of an extremely exclusive club. She is the third woman from the Open era to leave Wimbledon in the opening round right on the heels of her triumph at Roland Garros.
At one point this season, Gauff’s record rose to an eye-popping 20 wins and only three losses. The truth is that her performance against Yastremska was anything but exceptional. Gauff hit 29 unforced errors, with nine of them being double faults. The grass surface proved a tough one for her to find her rhythm on.
Wimbledon has historically posed challenges for Gauff. This time it was for Gauff’s incredible run at the All England Club in 2019. She beat Venus Williams in her first match and reached the fourth round before she has failed to advance past that point in her other tournaments. The fact remains that she’s now suffered first round early exits two of the last three years.
Gauff had a tough time adjusting going from clay to grass. This is a huge change from her recent break out performance on clay, where she dominated the world’s top player, Aryna Sabalenka, winning her second Grand Slam at the French Open.
Gauff unleashed 16 winners in her first-round match against Dayana Yastremska. Yet she was only able to win six winners, falling well short of her target. Yastremska, who said she enjoys playing on grass, added, “I love when I’m playing on grass.” She continued, “I think this year we’re more like best friends.”
This year’s Wimbledon was the watershed moment for Gauff. She hoped to join the ranks of tennis great Serena Williams, the last woman to win the French Open and Wimbledon in the same season, doing so a decade earlier. With her current performance and history at Wimbledon, it appears that Gauff’s aspirations for this tournament will have to wait once again.
