Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. Just a quick programming note: We’ll be taking a few days off for the Fourth of July holiday and will return to your inbox on Tuesday.
In today’s SI:AM:
🎾 Upsets galore at Wimbledon
🏀 Landing spots for Dame
🏈 Texans preview
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Chaos in London
The 2025 Wimbledon Championships have barely started, and the tournament has already begun to go off the rails.
Four of the top 10 men’s seeds and four of the top 10 women’s seeds were eliminated in the first round. That includes big names like Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula, Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medvedev. Lorenzo Musetti (the No. 7 men’s seed), Holger Rune (No. 8 men’s seed), Zheng Qinwen (No. 5 women’s seed) and Paula Badosa (No. 9 women’s seed) were also bounced in the first round.
If that seems like a lot, it’s because it is. Eight first-round losses by top-10 seeds are the most ever at a major in the Open era, according to ESPN. The losses by Gauff (the No. 2 seed) and Pegula (No. 3) mark the first time in the Open era that two of the top three women have been ousted in the first round of a Grand Slam event.
Gauff’s loss is especially intriguing, coming less than a month after she won the French Open, her second career Grand Slam singles title. But it also highlighted her continued struggles on grass. After winning in Paris, Gauff’s next tournament was the grass-court Berlin Open, where she lost her first match to Wang Xinyu, 6–3, 6–3. Gauff now has a career record of 27–13 on grass, her worst winning percentage on any surface. She’s never advanced farther than the round of 16 at Wimbledon and has been eliminated in the first round in two of her last three trips to London.
“I definitely was struggling in the locker room. I don’t like losing,” Gauff said. “The main thing I’m sure my team and everyone is going to tell me [is]: ‘You did well at Roland Garros. Don’t be so upset.’ Things like that.”
Pegula’s loss is more confounding. While she has historically struggled on grass, winning just 58.9% of her matches, she won the grass-court Hamburg Open just last week, defeating two of the top-10 players in the world rankings (Emma Navarro and Iga Świątek) in the process. But she was no match for Elisabetta Cocciaretto on Tuesday, losing 6–2, 6–3 in her first opening-round defeat at a Slam since 2020.
The men’s bracket has been completely turned on its head, with 13 of the 32 seeded players having been eliminated in the first round. That tied the record for most first-round losses by seeded players at a major, matching the mark set at the 2004 Australian Open.
But many of the big names on the men’s side are still alive, including reigning Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner and French Open champion Carlos Alcaraz, who won at Wimbledon last year. Sinner is one of several top players who will be in action in the second round on Thursday, looking to avoid the same unfortunate fate that befell many of his peers in the first round. Novak Djokovic, Jack Draper and Ben Shelton are among the men’s players to watch on Thursday, while Navarro, Świątek and Elena Rybakina are among the top women’s players scheduled to play.
The best of Sports Illustrated
- Gilberto Manzano continues SI’s 32 teams in 32 days series with the Texans, who could be positioned for a big season after restocking the wide receiver room and retooling the offensive line.
- Tom Dierberger listed four potential landing spots for Damian Lillard after the Bucks’ surprising decision to waive him.
- Part of the reason Milwaukee cut Lillard was because it agreed to a massive contract with Pacers big man Myles Turner.
- Court records provide some details about the financial troubles of free-agent guard Malik Beasley, who is the subject of a gambling investigation. (Beasley has not been charged with a crime.)
- Fans face tough choices when filling out their MLB All-Star Game ballots. With fan voting concluding on Wednesday, four position battles are poised to go down to the wire.
- Legendary halftime performer Red Panda was injured last night after falling during her routine at the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup final in Minnesota.
The top five…
… things I saw last night:
5. NESN’s 1975 broadcast graphics during the Red Sox–Reds game to mark the 50th anniversary of Boston’s AL pennant.
4. A slick assist by Natasha Howard in the Fever’s WNBA Commissioner’s Cup win over the Lynx.
3. An immaculate inning by Red Sox prospect Hayden Mullins. That’s the second immaculate inning by a minor leaguer in the last three days. (Evan McKendry of the White Sox did it on Sunday.)
2. Shohei Ohtani’s 30th home run of the season. We’ve got a really good battle for the MLB lead in homers brewing. Ohtani and Aaron Judge both have 30, while Cal Raleigh still leads the way with 33.
1. Victor Caratini’s grand slam on a pitch thrown up near his shoulders.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as SI:AM | Record-Setting Carnage at Wimbledon as Numerous Top Seeds Exit Early.
