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Less than one month ago, Coco Gauff was on top of the tennis world as the French Open champion. Now, she’s at the bottom.
The 21-year-old tennis phenom dropped her first round of the Wimbledon Championships on Tuesday in straight sets to Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine, 7-6 (7-3), 6-1.
Yastremska was ranked as high as 21st in the world back in January 2020, but entered Tuesday’s contest at No. 46. Her best finish in a Grand Slam was her 2024 Australian Open semifinal.
Gauff, ranked No. 2 in the world, had a total of 29 unforced errors and nine double-faults. Meanwhile, Yastremska said she was “on fire” throughout the day.
Gauff joined Jessica Pegula, who lost earlier Tuesday, in the round of American women upsets.
The grass-court tournament has proved to be her least-successful major. It’s the only Slam where Gauff hasn’t made at least the semifinals. She has yet to get past the fourth round and now has been sent home in the first round twice in the past three years.
The transition from clay to grass has proven tough for most players, and the last woman to win the French Open and Wimbledon in the same season was Serena Williams a decade ago.
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Still, since the Open era began in 1968, only Justine Henin in 2005 and Francesca Schiavone in 2010 went from holding the trophy in Paris to exiting immediately in London.
Yastremska now owns an 11-11 first-round record in Grand Slams. Gauff, by contrast, was 20-3 at that stage, including a loss to Sofia Kenin at Wimbledon in 2023.
Yastremska’s deepest run at Wimbledon was making the fourth round in 2019, although she did get to the final of the junior event in 2016. She recently reached her first tournament final on grass, at a smaller event in Nottingham, which she said gave her confidence heading to the All England Club.
“I love playing on grass. I feel that this year we are kind of friends,” Yastremska said with a laugh. “I hope the road will continue for me here.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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