WIMBLEDON, England — Coco Gauff suffered a shock defeat in the first round at Wimbledon on Tuesday, her earliest exit at a Grand Slam since losing in her first match at Wimbledon two years ago. The champion at Roland Garros last month, the American hit nine double faults and struggled throughout as she lost 7-6 (3), 6-1 to Dayana Yastremska, the world No. 42 player, from Ukraine.
Here’s what went wrong:
Gauff’s serve broke down
Gauff’s serve has always been vulnerable but usually she’s able to find a way through and find a way to deal with things when they break down. On Tuesday, even though the roof was closed, which took away any issue with the elements, Gauff struggled for rhythm.
The second serve, in particular, broke down and for once, it weighed too heavily on her shoulders. With Yastremska standing tight to the baseline, the pressure was ramped up. In total, Gauff hit nine double faults and won only 44% of points on her second serve. Landing just 45% of her first serves left her vulnerable, and Yastremska took full advantage.
Gauff seemed mentally tired
Winning the French Open last month clearly took a lot out of Gauff. The American had to work enormously hard to get through the draw in Paris, and the final was especially arduous, when the wind made life tough for both her and Aryna Sabalenka.
Ideally after winning a Grand Slam title, a break would be the right thing to do, but Gauff had little time to recover, mentally. She lost her only warmup match in Berlin — against an opponent who hit flat and hard, she found herself wanting. The fact that she hit only six winners tells its own story. The fight wasn’t there.
“I feel like mentally I was a little bit overwhelmed with everything that came afterwards, so I didn’t feel like I had enough time to celebrate and also get back into it,” Gauff said after Tuesday’s match. “But it’s the first time in this experience of coming off a win and having to play Wimbledon. I definitely learned a lot of what I would and would not do again.”
Yastremska is about as tough an opponent as Gauff could have faced
Ranked No. 42, Yastremska was not far off a seeded spot. The Ukrainian reached the final in Nottingham and made the quarters in Eastbourne. Though her best effort at Wimbledon in the past was a round-of-16 showing in 2019, she is a quality player who made the semifinals in Australia a couple of years ago.
Despite 25 unforced errors, she slammed 16 winners, “I think it was a great match today, I was really on fire,” she said. “I hope the road will continue, and it is a pleasure to be here.”
Gauff agreed. “She played great. I saw the draw and knew it would be a tough match for me. I played her on clay [in April], and I think that surface suits me a little better. It was still a tough three-setter [then]. Yeah, I knew today would be tough.”