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World No. 3 Jessica Pegula made a striking admission after a stunning 1st-round loss to an unranked Italian player at Wimbledon. The three-time Masters 1000 winner was coming into the All England Lawn Tennis Club looking to build off a productive grass-court season. Pegula was coming off a win at the Bad Homburg Open, with encouraging victories over top-10 players Iga Swiatek and Emma Navarro.
Elisabetta Cocciaretto, however, had other plays, dominating this clash to win 6-2 6-3. The 24-year-old made it to the 3rd round of Wimbledon in 2023 and looked as comfortable as ever on Court 2, hitting 17 winners. Pegula, on the other hand, hits just five winners while recording 24 unforced errors on the evening. The American, in particular, struggled on her second serve, winning just 42% of the points on it. In the post-match interview, Pegula was brutally honest about her disappointment over the result, while giving major credit to Cocciaretto.
“She played absolutely incredible tennis. 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…It was terrible (on her serve). It's so frustrating when something you've been working on so much doesn't come and help you when you want it to, especially on grass…It's really a bummer to lose. I'm upset that I wasn't able to turn anything around. But at the same time, I do feel like she played kind of insane. Kudos to her.”
Pegula is still the No. 3 player in the world by a fair margin and will probably stay in that spot heading into the summer hard-court season. The pressure will be on during this stretch, particularly as the US Open looms. Jessica made it to her first major final at her home slam in 2024, where she eventually fell in a tight straight-set affair to Aryna Sabalenka.
Overall, Wimbledon has seen its share of upsets on both the men's and women's sides so far. Coco Gauff also fell in the 1st round on Tuesday, and several top 10 men's players are already out. There are still plenty of quality Americans in the draw, with Madison Keys probably being the best bet for the women. Emma Navarro also won her opening round clash and can make a deep run on the grass. But it was an overall disappointing day for the United States, with their top 2 seeds now out.
