Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula were among the high-profile casualties at Wimbledon, and renowned coach Patrick Mouratoglou believes the packed tennis calendar is largely to blame for the slew of early exits.
In an Instagram video, the former coach of Serena Williams and current advisor to Naomi Osaka weighed in on the surprising number of top-seeded players crashing out at the All England Club, saying the short turnaround between Roland Garros and Wimbledon leaves little room for recovery or adaptation.
Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula’s Shock Exits Spark Patrick Mouratoglou’s Criticism of Tight Scheduling
For years, players and coaches have debated the tight scheduling between the French Open and Wimbledon. While the gap was once just two weeks, it’s now extended to three, but Mouratoglou isn’t convinced that extra time makes much of a difference. This year’s results may support his concern.
Big names on both the ATP and WTA circuits exited early, including third-seeded Alexander Zverev, who lost in the first round, and world No. 2 Gauff, who also suffered a shocking opening-round defeat. According to Mouratoglou, the timing simply doesn’t allow for proper recovery or surface adaptation.
“Top players go far in Roland Garros,” Mouratoglou said. “The first week of the tournament on grass, they don’t play. They just start to practice maybe half a week. They need time to rest. Also, a Grand Slam is exhausting, even more on clay. They need to rest. Three weeks is not enough, for sure.”
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He emphasized how different the clay and grass surfaces are and pointed out that many players only spend two to three weeks on grass per year, a period far too short to master the surface.
“This switch is so brutal,” he continued. “Clay, where the bounce is very high, you’re sliding… compared to grass, where the bounce is low, the ball accelerates off the ground, and the movement is all about small steps. The serve becomes crucial. It’s crazy to have so little time to get used to those conditions.”
Mouratoglou also highlighted the mental toll, stating that players who go deep in Paris often arrive at Wimbledon mentally drained.
“You are completely empty,” he said. “You need to recharge the batteries and reset for a new goal that is happening almost right now.”
Big Names Fall Early in a Wimbledon Riddled With Upsets
This year’s Wimbledon underscored Mouratoglou’s concerns, with a slew of seeded players losing in the first or second round. On the men’s side, seeds such as Daniil Medvedev, Lorenzo Musetti, Jack Draper, Holger Rune, and even Stefanos Tsitsipas, who retired during his opening match, were among the early casualties.
The women’s draw was equally chaotic, with Pegula, Jasmine Paolini, Paula Badosa, Qinwen Zheng, and Leylah Fernandez all bowing out in the early stages.
In his Instagram post, shared during the second week of Wimbledon, Mouratoglou also reflected on the broader challenges of the tennis calendar.
“You have a Grand Slam in January, and then you have three Grand Slams between basically June and August. The concentration is crazy,” he said. “The US Open is a bit better… players play 80 percent of the year on hard court. So the adaptation is almost immediate.”
He also acknowledged that shifting the schedule isn’t easy due to weather constraints in host cities like Paris, London, and New York.
“Wimbledon is all about tradition,” he added. “So tradition don’t change, so I don’t think they’re gonna change.”
A Rundown of ATP and WTA Seeds Who Crashed Out Early at Wimbledon This Year
ATP
3. Alexander Zverev (first round)
4. Jack Draper (second round)
7. Lorenzo Musetti (first round)
8. Holger Rune (first round)
9. Daniil Medvedev (first round)
12. Frances Tiafoe (second round)
13. Tommy Paul (second round)
16. Francisco Cerúndolo (first round)
18. Ugo Humbert (first round)
20. Alexei Popyrin (first round)
21. Tomáš Macháč (second round)
23. Jiří Lehečka (second round)
24. Stefanos Tsitsipas (first round, retired)
25. Félix Auger-Aliassime (second round)
26. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (third round)
27. Denis Shapovalov (first round)
28. Alexander Bublik (first round)
30. Alex Michelsen (first round)
31. Tallon Griekspoor (first round)
32. Matteo Berrettini (first round)
WTA
2. Coco Gauff (first round)
3. Jessica Pegula (first round)
4. Jasmine Paolini (second round)
5. Zheng Qinwen (first round)
6. Madison Keys (third round)
9. Paula Badosa (first round)
11. Elena Rybakina (third round)
12. Diana Shnaider (second round)
14. Elina Svitolina (third round)
15. Karolína Muchová (first round)
16. Daria Kasatkina (third round)
20. Jeļena Ostapenko (first round)
21. Beatriz Haddad Maia (second round)
22. Donna Vekić (second round)
25. Magdalena Fręch (first round)
26. Marta Kostyuk (first round)
27. Magda Linette (first round)
28. Sofia Kenin (second round)
29. Leylah Fernandez (second round)
31. Ashlyn Krueger (second round)
32. McCartney Kessler (first round)
