Coco Gauff’s Wimbledon run came to an unexpected end as the 21-year-old broke down in tears during her post-match press conference, reflecting on her opening-round loss to Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska.
After entering the tournament with high hopes following her triumph at the 2025 French Open, Gauff was visibly distraught, admitting she was struggling to process the defeat.
Coco Gauff’s Grass-Court Struggles Continue Despite Roland-Garros Triumph
Just weeks ago, Gauff captured her second singles Grand Slam title at Roland-Garros, defeating World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the final. Hopes were high that she could ride that momentum into the grass-court season, but her campaign got off to a rocky start with a straight-sets loss to Wang Xinyu in the Berlin Tennis Open.
However, her Wimbledon loss was more difficult to dismiss, given her strong head-to-head record against Yastremska and her high seeding at the event.
Seeded second and making her sixth appearance at the All England Club, Gauff came in with a 3-0 record over Yastremska on the Women’s Tennis Association Tour. But the unseeded Ukrainian controlled the match, edging out a tight first set in a tiebreak and running away with the second for a 7-6(3), 6-1 win.
“It’s the win of her career.”
No.1 Court is stunned as Dayana Yastremska defeats No.2 seed Coco Gauff 7-6(3), 6-1 😲#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/pZYylWHcs8
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 1, 2025
In the aftermath, Gauff was visibly shaken as she addressed reporters. Asked to reflect on her European swing, Gauff choked up while trying to find the positives amid the disappointment.
“I’m trying to be positive,” she said. “After the match, I was definitely struggling in the locker room. I don’t like losing. I’m sure my team and everyone’s going to tell me, ‘You did well at Roland-Garros, don’t be so upset,’ but I don’t really like losing.”
Gauff explained her frustration with her performance, particularly how she handled the pivotal tiebreak moments in the first set.
“I just feel a little bit disappointed in how I showed up today,” she continued, her voice breaking. “I feel I could have been a little bit better … especially after Roland-Garros, where I feel like I learned a lot in those tiebreakers.”
Still, she acknowledged that the early exit might offer a silver lining ahead of the summer hard-court season.
“I’m not gonna dwell on this too long because I want to do well at the US Open. Maybe losing here first round isn’t the worst thing in the world because I have some time to reset, but yeah, it definitely sucks.”
