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Rennae Stubbs discusses what led to Coco Gauff being upset in the first round of Wimbledon

Originally posted on HITC | By Peter Lynch | Last updated Jul 3, 2025 12:41 PM ET

Coco Gauff’s early exit from Wimbledon is another reminder of how unpredictable tennis can be, especially just weeks after her triumph at Roland Garros.

This time, Gauff was ousted by Dayana Yastremska, who capitalised on a match-up that didn’t favour the American. While it was a straight-sets defeat, the reasons behind it go deeper than just form or preparation – and Rennae Stubbs has weighed in on what really happened.

Although Yastremska was ranked 42nd in the world, she produced a 7-6(7-3), 6-1 win that left Gauff searching for solutions.

The loss mirrors Gauff’s 2023 Wimbledon first-round exit – a season that ended with her lifting the US Open trophy. And while history may be on her side, the disappointment was clear. Gauff wasn’t alone, though, as several top women also struggled early.

Rennae Stubbs suggests the main reason why Coco Gauff lost in Wimbledon round one

Stubbs referenced Jessica Pegula, who also lost early, in her analysis of Gauff’s defeat:

“She sort of said in press she would approach things differently but I don’t think that was the issue. I think you could look at it and did it contribute? Maybe.

“Because she did not have the prep that she needed on grass and I think that’s definitely possible that she did not have enough practice matches on grass.

“But I think this just came down to match up. I think if she played a Cocciaretto, I don’t think she would have liked Coco’s game like she liked Jessie’s game.”

Stubbs noted that Yastremska’s aggression and first-strike style was always going to be a tough ask for Gauff, especially with limited time to adapt her game to grass.

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Her comments continued: “When you think about Yastremska this is the biggest and worst match up for Coco in the first round. If Coco was confident coming in on grass, I still think that is a really hard match up.

“What does Yastremska do? She is the one, two, three maximum punch player. Bang with the return, bang with the second shot, serve plus one. She is not the type of person to rally for six or seven.

“Pegula probably has a better chance against Yastremska because she is going to get the ball back harder and Yastremska’s ability to hit five great shots, very rare, two or three very good.

“So you have two problems. Coco’s forehand on clay gets up high and out of people’s hitting zones. She has time to run balls down on clay. She would not lose to Yastremska on clay, no way.”

Rennae Stubbs says what Coco Gauff should have done against Dayana Yastremska

This year’s grass-court Grand Slam hasn’t been kind to the top women, with four of the top five WTA seeds already out – including 2024 runner-up Jasmine Paolini.

Gauff, Pegula and Qinwen Zheng have all exited early, leaving world number one Aryna Sabalenka as the last remaining top-five player in the draw.

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For Gauff, the focus will quickly shift to the hard courts, where she’ll look to reset and build momentum heading into the US Open.

Speaking further about Gauff’s game, Stubbs noted: “But on grass you do not have to take so much risk because if you hit the ball at 90mph on grass and it’s into the open court I don’t care how fast you are, Coco is the fastest player on tour, you are not getting to that ball.

“On clay, you are getting to that ball and it’s going to come back and you are going to take more risk and miss.

“So my thought is that she should have been chipping and playing ugly when Yastremska hits the serve to the forehand, rather than try and crush the forehand, chip it back, make it ugly!

“Chip it below the net and you know she is not comfortable coming in. You have to have game plan B and that wasn’t the case.”

How Gauff responds to this loss will be closely watched, especially as she looks to adjust her approach on grass in future seasons.

The season is far from over, and with a French Open title already in hand, Gauff still has plenty to be proud of – and more opportunities to add to her growing legacy.

This article first appeared on HITC and was syndicated with permission.

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