Coco Gauff Falls to Simona Halep, Ending Remarkable Run at Wimbledon

She may have lost on Monday, but Coco Gauff is only just getting started.

Simona Halep beat Coco Gauff in straight sets at Wimbledon on Monday, ending the 15-year-old American's spectacular run to the tournament's second week. 

Halep, the No. 7 seed, prevailed 6–3, 6–3 on Court No. 1, setting up a quarterfinal match against Shuai Zhang. Halep, the former world No. 1 who won the 2018 French Open, is aiming to reach the second Wimbledon semifinal of her career. 

Gauff, who won the French Open juniors' event in 2018, received a wild card into the Wimbledon qualifying draw and proceeded to become the youngest woman to qualify for the tournament in the modern era. She beat Venus Williams, her idol, in the first round in straight sets before topping Magdalena Rybarikova in the second round. To reach the round of 16, she came back to beat Polona Hercog on Centre Court, overcoming two match points in the second set before prevailing in a decider. 

Though Gauff broke Halep's serve twice, she dropped serve five times. She also hit a costly 29 unforced errors, compared to just 14 for Halep, who needed one hour and 15 minutes to win Monday's match. 

Despite the loss, Gauff became a genuine star over the past week, breaking through the tennis bubble into the mainstream like few players are able to do. Only a teenager, she still has plenty of room to improve her game—a scary reality for the rest of the tour. But Halep, who remains one of the world's elite players, was too formidable an opponent this time around. 

This story will be updated.