Coco Gauff. Credit :
Robert Prange/Getty
- Coco Gauff was upset in the first round at Wimbledon on Tuesday
- Gauff, 21, said she felt “mentally overwhelmed” after winning the French Open weeks earlier
- The American tennis star was among a record-breaking number of first-round upsets at this year’s Wimbledon tennis tournament
The biggest win of Coco Gauff’s year might have led to her biggest loss, the American tennis star surmised after getting knocked out of Wimbledon in the first round on Tuesday.
The 21-year-old American tennis star was upset in the first round of the English tennis tournament after losing to unseeded Ukrainian tennis player Dayana Yastremska in straight sets. Gauff was the No. 2 seed in the tournament.
Gauff said after her shocking loss on Tuesday that she was “a little bit overwhelmed” with “everything” that came with winning her second major tournament last month. Gauff defeated Aryna Sabalenka in the French Open, and went on a mini media tour in the weeks following the victory.
“I feel like mentally I was a little bit overwhelmed with everything that came afterwards,” Gauff said, according to ESPN. “So, I didn’t feel like I had enough time to celebrate and also get back into it.”
Coco Gauff. Robert Prange/Getty
The outlet reported that Gauff made “mistake after mistake” in the match against Yastremska, 25, who won the first set 7-6 before cruising to a 6-1 win in the second set. Gauff made 29 unforced errors in the match, including nine double-faults.
“Dayana started off playing strong,” Gauff said afterwards. “I couldn’t find my footing out there today.”
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Coco Gauff and Dayana Yastremska. Peter van den Berg/ISI Photos/ISI Photos via Getty
It’s the second time in the last three years that Gauff has lost in the first round at Wimbledon after getting upset in 2023 as the No. 7 seed to unseeded Sofia Kenin.
After the match Tuesday, Yastremska said she felt “really on fire” during the first-round performance and complimented Gauff as a tough opponent.
“Playing against Coco, it is something special,” the world No. 42 said.
Gauff wasn’t the only top-seeded player to go down in the first round Tuesday. A record-breaking four women ranked in the top 10, as well as four men, were all upset – the most ever at a major tournament in the Open Era (since 1968), according to ESPN.
