Wimbledon 2025: Gauff and Pegula Fall in Historic First-Round Upsets

The curse of the top seeds continues as top-ranked American players Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula suffered first-round exits during the second day of Wimbledon.

Pegula fell to World No. 116 Elisabetta Cocciaretto 2-6, 3-6 in just under an hour on No. 2 Court. The loss comes days after the World No. 3 defeated five-time major champion Iga Swiatek to win the Bad Hamburg Open on grass.

Cocciaretto played a clinical match from start to finish, although Pegula struggled with unforced errors and second serve errors. The 24-year-old hit 24 unforced errors, including a crucial missed backhand at 3-3 in the second set that gave Cocciaretto a key service break.

"I tried my best to try and match her level," Pegula said. "I thought I was gonna be able to do it there, at least in the second. Maybe if she dropped a little bit, but she didn't really drop her level at all. I was a little frustrated. I think that's the most frustrating part is I wasn't able to figure it out, which I feel like I should be able to, so that's always disappointing."

Cocciaretto is the first Italian woman to defeat a Top 3 seed at a Grand Slam since Roberta Vinci and Flavia Pennetta upset Serena Williams and Simona Halep at the 2015 US Open, and the first to do so at Wimbledon in the Open Era. The loss marks Pegula's first first-round Grand Slam exit in five years.

"She played absolutely incredible tennis," Pegula said. "Do I think I played the best match ever? No. But I definitely don't think I was playing bad. It wasn't like I was playing that bad. She just was hitting her shots and going for it, serving big, serving high percentage, going big second serves, redirecting the ball. It was just her day, I honestly think."

Gauff exited the Championships just a few hours after Pegula, falling to Dayana Yastremska 6-7 (3), 1-6 on Centre Court. The World No. 2 had just one match on grass, a straight sets loss to Wang Xinyu in Berlin, under her belt since her victory at Roland Garros last month.

Yastremska, on the other hand, entered the tournament with a quarterfinal run in Eastbourne and a run to the finals in Nottingham. The Ukrainian was in control for a majority of the match, running Gauff across the court while taking advantage of poorly hit forehands to drop several winners.

"I feel like mentally I was a bit overwhelmed with everything that came afterwards," Gauff said. "It's the first time of this experience of coming off a win and having to play Wimbledon. I definitely learned a lot of what I would and would not do again."

Gauff also struggled with her serve, something the American spoke on prior to the tournament, making 45% of her first serves along with nine double faults. Yastremska left no stones unturned when taking advantage of Gauff's tightness, finishing the match off with a massive forehand off of Gauff's serve.

The quick turnaround from clay to grass is often a point of interest for many top-ranked players entering Wimbledon. With a majority making the final rounds of Roland Garros, little time is left to adjust to grass season with just a few tournaments in between the two slams.

Gauff certainly noticed a difference, discussing how the decision to play which tournament following a deep run in Paris is difficult, given the short season on grass. Adjusting her style of play in such a small timeframe comes with its cons, leaving some aspects of her game lacking on a surface she has yet to conquer.

"I think it's just changing my playing style, which is difficult because for me," Gauff said. "I approach clay, and I play this one way for however long clay season is. I feel like when I go hard, I don't have to change as much, but I still have to adjust it a little bit. I know on grass I do, and I feel like by the time I find it, it's already time to play."

Gauff and Pegula join a record-breaking exodus of top seeds during the first round at Wimbledon. With both Americans out of the draw, it's the first time in Open Era history that two of the top three women's seeds exit in the first round of a major.

In the men's draw, 13 seeds suffered first-round exits, breaking Wimbledon's previous record of 11 in 2021, while 10 seeds are out in the women's draw.

Wimbledon runs through July 13. Stay locked into Sports Illustrated's Serve On SI for all of your tennis news from the court and beyond.

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