Wimbledon 2025 has already made headlines, and not just for the usual drama on the grass courts. This year, the tournament’s first rounds delivered a historic wave of upsets, shocking fans and shaking up the draw.
Among the most notable early exits was Coco Gauff, the world No. 2 and reigning French Open champion, who fell to Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska in a match that set the tone for a wild opening week.
The rapid transition from clay to grass, combined with deep runs at Roland Garros, left many top seeds vulnerable, and the results spoke for themselves.
Gauff Explains Early Exit
Gauff provided insight into the challenge after her first-round loss, saying, “I feel like historically Wimbledon always has so many upsets first rounds here.”
The 21-year-old pointed to the quick change from clay to grass as the main problem.
“I think most of the seeds are going deeper in Roland Garros and then you spend long clay season and then you have to come and try to adjust to grass,” Gauff explained. She described the tough choice players face after doing well at the French Open: whether to rush into grass court preparation or take time to rest.
“Then if you’re going deep in Roland Garros, you’re debating on do I rush and play that week or do I take time and play the week before? It’s a tricky thing,” she added. Gauff mentioned that the best players like Carlos and Novak have figured out this challenge, though “even he had a tough first round match.”
Gauff was clear about her view: “I think this slam out of all of them is the most prone to have upsets just because of how quick the turnaround is from clay.” Her serve was especially affected, with nine double faults and 29 unforced errors in the loss.
Record-Breaking Upsets at Wimbledon 2025
The first two days at Wimbledon 2025 rewrote the record books with the most upsets ever seen at the tournament. Thirteen of the 32 men’s seeds and ten of the 32 women’s seeds were knocked out in the opening rounds, matching or breaking previous marks for early exits at a Grand Slam event.
Notably, a total of eight top-10 seeds—four men and four women—crashed out in the first round, setting a new record for any Grand Slam in the Open Era.
Jessica Pegula, the world No. 3, suffered an even more shocking defeat than Gauff. Elisabetta Cocciaretto, ranked 116th in the world, beat Pegula 6-2, 6-3 in just 58 minutes, making it one of the most lopsided losses for a top-5 seed at a major in recent memory. While it is difficult to confirm if this was the quickest defeat of a top-5 seed since 2022, the result was undeniably surprising.
Add coco on the list too
— A Guiding Dark ✒️🌟 (@A_Guiding_Dark) July 1, 2025
Other high-profile exits included China’s Olympic champion Qinwen Zheng, seeded fifth, who fell short in the first round against Katerina Siniakova, 7-5, 4-6, 6-1. Spain’s Paula Badosa, the ninth seed, joined the list of early departures after losing to Katie Boulter, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4.
On the men’s side, the upsets were just as dramatic. Alexander Zverev, the third seed, lost a five-set marathon to France’s Arthur Rinderknech. Other notable exits included seventh seed Lorenzo Musetti, eighth seed Holger Rune, and ninth seed Daniil Medvedev. The wave of early losses left fans and analysts wondering if this year’s Wimbledon would be remembered as the year of the underdog.
