American Coco Gauff ousted in the opening round at Wimbledon in a shocking upset
No. 2 seed Coco Gauff was shockingly upset at the 2025 Wimbledon Championships on Tuesday as Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska defeated the Roland Garros champion 7-6(3), 6-1.
The world No. 42 was in control throughout the first set tiebreak and appeared very comfortable against Gauff, who typically dominates opponents in the early rounds.
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The two-time grand slam winner appeared tight and unusually conservative with her strong forehand and serving, which let her down on Court No. 1. She double-faulted nine times in the match. The Ukrainian stroked 16 winners compared to just six from the American.
On match point, Yastremska's deep forehand forced Gauff into an unforced error, to which the 25-year-old let out a victorious primal scream.
The pair embraced at the net with Gauff quickly gathering her rackets while waving to the crowd as she walked off the court. Yastremska basked in the upset victory – the biggest win of her career.
Gauff's loss, along with Jessica Pegula's defeat, marked the first time in women's major history in the Open Era that two of the top three seeds lost in the first round.
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Gauff has never advanced past the fourth round at Wimbledon and got emotional during the post-match press conference.
'I don't really like losing,' the 21-year-old said with tears in her eyes. 'I just feel a little bit disappointed in how I showed up today. I felt like I could have been a little bit better.'
Coco Gauff struggled to find her form throughout Tuesday's match. - Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP
After the victory, the Ukrainian star, who reached the 2024 Australian Open semifinal, acknowledged that she brought the heat to the All England Club.
'I was really on fire. I even have fire on my nails,' she said while holding up her fingers for the crowd and cameras to see.
Yastremska said playing Gauff is always special and was thankful for the support.
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'These courts are made for the greatest players, so I'm very grateful to be on this court,' she said while the crowd clapped. 'I'm actually enjoying really a lot being on the court and I love playing on grass. I feel that this year we are kind of friends,' she said with a smile.
'I hope that the road will continue for me here.'
Gauff, who has now lost in the first round at Wimbledon two of the last three years, noted this was her first experience managing preparation and schedule after winning the French Open just over three weeks ago.
'I felt like mentally I was a little bit overwhelmed with everything that came afterwards,' she said after the upset loss.
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'So, I didn't feel like I had that enough time to do, I guess, celebrate and then also get back into it. But it's the first time of this experience of coming off a win and having to play Wimbledon and I definitely learned a lot of what I would and would not do again.'
Gauff also gave credit to Yastremska's performance.
'She played great. I mean, I saw the draw and knew it would be a tough match for me,' she said.
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