Coco Gauff Admits to ‘Struggling in the Locker Room’ After Shock First-Round Defeat at Wimbledon

Coco Gauff ended her campaign on the grass swing without winning a set in the two tournaments she played. Following a successful clay swing, she arrived in Berlin to kick-start her campaign on grass but failed to move past eventual runner-up Wang Xinyu in her opening round.

Then at Wimbledon, Dayana Yastremska knocked her out 7-6(3), 6-1 in the first round. Gauff, disappointed after the defeat, said she would not dwell on the defeat much because she wants to give her best in the final Major of the season, the US Open, which she had won in 2023.

I’m trying to be positive. After the match, I definitely was struggling in the locker room. I don’t like losing. I know my team is gonna tell me ‘You did well at Roland Garros. Don’t be so upset’. But I don’t really like losing. I feel a bit disappointed with how I showed up today.

Coco Gauff said at the press conference

During the clay swing, Gauff made it to the finals of the Madrid Open and the Italian Open, losing both to Aryna Sabalenka and Jasmine Paolini, respectively. But at the French Open, she was successful in defeating the Belarusian to lift her second Grand Slam singles title.

The 21-year-old faced the Ukrainian for the fourth time in her career, losing her first match. This was the first time the American ace locked horns with the 25-year-old on grass as their previous three matches were held on clay. Yastremska will next face Anastasia Zakharova in the second round.

She has never reached a Grand Slam final and produced her best when she advanced to the semifinal of the 2024 Australian Open. At Wimbledon, Yastremska reached the fourth round in 2019, and last year, Donna Vekic knocked her out in the third round.

Coco Gauff explains why there are shocking defeats in the early rounds of Wimbledon

Coco Gauff was one of the top 10 players who got crashed out in the first round of Wimbledon. World No.3 Jessica Pegula lost to Elisabetta Cocciaretto, and fifth seed Qinwen Zheng failed to move past Katerina Siniakova. Also, World No.9 Paula Badosa was eliminated by Katie Boulter.