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Coco Gauff Upset in First Match After French Open Title

Coco Gauff lost to Xinyu Wang in the second round of the Berlin Open.
Pat Benson|
Wang Xinyu defeated Coco Gauff at the Berlin Open.
Wang Xinyu defeated Coco Gauff at the Berlin Open. | IMAGO/tennisphoto.de

The tennis season is a never-ending cycle of new cities and tournaments. That can be good and bad for players. For Coco Gauff, today was a reminder that momentum rarely carries over — especially from clay to grass.

It has been 12 days since Gauff won her second career Grand Slam title at the French Open. Gauff made her highly anticipated debut at Berlin in a custom Miu Miu x New Balance kit. Unfortunately for the American tennis, she star stumbled in her first grass-court match of the season.

On the flip side, Xinyu Wang battled through the qualifiers before taking down the WTA World No. 2. Wang defeated Gauff in straight sets during their second-round match at the 2025 Berlin Open: 6-3, 6-3.

After playing at an incredibly high level for two weeks in Paris, Gauff looked out of rhythm in Berlin. She tallied one ace and seven double faults. Gauff only landed 41% of her first serves, winning points on 75% and 41% of her first and second serves, respectively.

Meanwhile, Wang hit one ace and one double fault. She landed 57% of her first serves, winning points on 77% and 55% of her first and second serves, respectively.

Wang was 4/11 in break point opportunities to Gauff's 1/1. However, the match was not especially close as Wang dominated the number of points (29 to 18) and games (12 to 6) won.

Wang is the WTA World No. 49 and has improved to 14-14 on the season. It is her first-ever grass court quarterfinal and third top-five win of her career. She will face Paula Badosa tomorrow morning.

Gauff remains the No. 2 while falling to 31-9 on the season. Gauff's grass court campaign continues as she eyes Wimbledon later this month.

Stay locked into Sports Illustrated's Serve On SI for all your tennis news from the court and beyond.

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Pat Benson
PAT BENSON

Pat Benson covers professional tennis for Serve on Sports Illustrated, reporting on ATP and WTA events worldwide. From Challenger tournaments to Grand Slams, he brings readers in-depth coverage, daily recaps, and exclusive interviews with some of the biggest names in the sport. With a decade of experience in sports journalism, Pat is recognized as a trusted voice in tennis media. You can contact him at 1989patbenson@gmail.com.

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