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Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula both set a new Grand Slam record with their 1st-round losses at Wimbledon. It was a brutal day for the top two-ranked Americans at the All England Lawn Tennis Club. The No. 3-ranked player in the world was coming in with high expectations after winning the Bad Homburg Open. Unfortunately, Pegula could not get into any rhythm against Italy's Elisabetta Cocciaretto, hitting just five winners to 24 unforced errors in the 6-2 6-3 loss.
Meanwhile, Gauff entered her opening round clash against Ukraine's Dayana Yastremska after a quick grass-court season and less than a month off from winning the French Open. The 21-year-old has two majors to her name right now and was looking to reach her first quarterfinal at Wimbledon.
Coco has made it to the semifinals or further at all of the other slams. Unfortunately, the young American was also out of sorts on Court 1 in the 7-5 6-1 loss. In particular, Gauff could not get into any rhythm on her serve, recording nine double faults while only making 45% of her first serves. With these two losses, the former doubles partners made some history, and ESPN's Mike Monaco broke it down over social media.
#Wimbledon Coco Gauff (2) and Jessica Pegula (3) are out in a span of 9 hours.
It's the first women's major in the Open Era (!!) where two of the Top-3 seeds lost their opening matches.
— Mike Monaco (@MikeMonaco_) July 1, 2025
Pegula is surely disappointed with the result amid what has been an uneven season at the majors. The 31-year-old has yet to make a quarterfinal in her three slam appearances and will head into the US Open with a ton of points to defend. Jessica made an inspiring run to her first major final in 2024, where she fell in a competitive match to Aryna Sabalenka. Hard court is Pegula's best surface, so she should be able to find her consistently soon during this part of the season. For now, the No. 3-ranked player in the world still has a bit of cushion between her and world No. 4 Iga Swiatek.
While this loss was a dismal result for Coco, now is not the time to get too down on herself. Winning the French Open was a tremendous accomplishment for the young American's decorated career, and it was always going to be challenging to bounce back from that high on an entirely different surface. In addition, Gauff's game isn't well-suited for grass at this stage in her career. While the world No. 2 has a versatile game, she has had to overcome inconsistencies on her serve for a while now. In addition, her forehand operates better with more time and height on the slower and bouncier surfaces.
Gauff will surely have to improve those two weaknesses in her game to make a deep run on grass. But now, Coco heads into a part of the season that she has historically thrived in. The Atlanta, Georgia native has to pick herself off the ground from this result because she is capable of winning multiple tournaments this summer, including the US Open.
