Coco Gauff is out of Wimbledon after a shock first-round defeat to inspired Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska.
In a match originally scheduled for Centre Court but moved to under the roof on Court 1, Yastremska played the match of her life and eliminated the French Open champion and world No 2 via a 7-6, 6-1 scoreline.
Gauff looked aghast throughout the match, looking at her player box in disbelief, as the world No 42 hit winner after winner in a stunning performance across 78 minutes.
“This court brings me a lot of nice memories,” Yastremska, 25, said afterwards. “I played junior finals here, it gave me a lot of emotion.
“It was a great match today, I was really on fire. Playing against Coco, it is something special. She’s a great player, great person, we have a very good relationship, I enjoyed it a lot.
“This court is made for the greatest players, so I’m so happy to be on this court.”
Yastremska reached the final of the Nottingham Open and admitted afterwards her form on the grass has been a surprise, especially after she was unwell at the French Open.
“My preparation before the grass season wasn’t good,” she added. “I got sick at Roland Garros and for more than one week I didn’t play.
“Two days I trained on grass and straight away went to the finals in Nottingham. So it was pretty unexpected, but I think it was a great [grass] season for me with some great matches.
“I’m enjoying being on the court and I love playing on grass. I feel like this year we are kind of friends, so I hope the road will continue for me here. It’s a pleasure being here.”
Elsewhere, on a day of shocks in SW19, third seed in the women’s singles Jessica Pegula also exited in straight sets to Italy’s Elisabetta Cocciaretto.
Olympic champion Qinwen Zheng was also on the end of a surprise defeat, with the fifth-seeded Chinese player losing to Katerina Siniakova in three sets.
The third seed in the men’s singles, Alexander Zverev, also crashed out in five sets to Arthur Rinderknech on Centre Court, while seventh seed and 2024 semi-finalist Lorenzo Musetti lost to qualifier Nikoloz Basilashvili in four sets.
