Longhorns Ex Peyton Stearns Falls Short in Wimbledon 1st Round

Since the French Open, former Texas Longhorns tennis player Peyton Stearns announced that she would be taking a temporary pause from tennis after she had been dealing with a sickness caused by a parasite. Her return to tennis was quickly halted after falling short to the Czech Republic's Markéta Vondroušová in the first round of Wimbledon on Monday (6-2, 7-5), her first post-recovery match.

The former Longhorns tennis player had a weak first set against Vondroušová but luckily was able to spice things up the following set to make the match a more competitive game.

Stearns struggled with her serve throughout the match which dug her into a deep hole. With four double faults and only winning 54 percent of her first-serve points, Stearns' racket productivity was not up to par with her opponent.

Stearns earned her spot in the tournament, though. After her French Open debut of making it to the final 64 before falling short to the current No. 10 in the world Daria Kasatkina, Stearns entered into the top 60 list last month.

Vondroušová should not be overlooked, however, and was a difficult competitor to be placed up against, especially in the first round of the Wimbledon tournament. Vondroušová's career-high ranking is placed at No. 14 and previously was named the No. 1 junior. As a teenager in 2019, she reached the French Open finals.

Although her 2023 Wimbledon journey may have come to a close, Stearns will be looking toward Grand Slam, the U.S. Open, and will be preparing in the coming months by competing in smaller tournaments.

You can follow Tori Garcia on Twitter @ToriCGarcia

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