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Coco Gauff’s Wimbledon campaign ended almost as soon as it began.
The No. 2 seed and reigning French Open champion was stunned in the first round Tuesday night, losing 7-6 (3), 6-1 to Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska in one of the biggest upsets of the 2025 tournament so far.
Gauff, just three weeks removed from lifting her second Grand Slam trophy at Roland-Garros, became only the third woman in the Open era to win the French Open and then lose in the first round at Wimbledon — joining Justine Henin in 2005 and Francesca Schiavone in 2010.
“Dayana started off playing strong,” Gauff said after the match. “I couldn’t find my footing out there today.”
And it showed. Gauff recorded just six winners to Yastremska’s 16 and piled up 29 unforced errors, including nine double-faults. Her serve — usually a weapon — betrayed her under the lights of No. 1 Court. She landed only 45% of her first serves and struggled to win points behind her second.
“When I can serve well, and some games I did, it’s definitely an added threat,” Gauff said. “I didn’t serve that well.”
Post-French Open Fog
After her triumph in Paris, Gauff admitted the whirlwind of press, pressure, and prestige made it hard to reset and refocus.
“I feel like mentally I was a little bit overwhelmed with everything that came afterwards,” the 21-year-old said. “I didn’t feel like I had enough time to celebrate and also get back into it.”
The quick turnaround from clay to grass has long been one of tennis’s toughest transitions, and Gauff isn’t alone in struggling to adjust. But this loss was particularly painful considering her history at Wimbledon — the site of her breakout as a 15-year-old phenom in 2019, when she shocked Venus Williams in the opening round and made a dazzling run to the fourth.
Despite that magical debut, Wimbledon remains her least successful Slam. She’s never reached the semifinals at the All England Club, and this marks her second first-round exit in the last three years.
Yastremska Finds Her Spark
For Yastremska, the victory was a personal breakthrough — her first over Gauff in four career meetings and a return to form after inconsistent showings in early rounds at majors.
“I was really on fire,” said Yastremska, who entered ranked No. 42 in the world. “Playing against Coco, it is something special.”
She recently made the final at the grass-court event in Nottingham, and that momentum carried into London. “I love playing on grass,” she said. “I feel that this year we are kind of friends.”
Looking Ahead
While this loss stings for Gauff, her season is far from over. With two Grand Slam titles already under her belt, she’s proven herself a contender on every surface but grass. And despite the disappointment, she’s still only 21 — younger than many of her peers still searching for their first major breakthrough.
As Wimbledon carries on without one of its biggest stars, Gauff will regroup and reload for the U.S. Open, where the hard courts have historically favored her game and mentality.
This isn’t the ending she or fans envisioned — but it’s a reminder that in tennis, even champions stumble. What separates the greats is how they respond next.
