Wimbledon: Gauff suffers first round exit

American second seed Coco Gauff suffered a stunning Wimbledon defeat as the French Open champion was beaten 7-6 (7/3), 6-1 by Ukranian world number 42 Dayana Yastremska on Tuesday.

Gauff was expected to make a strong run at the All England Club after her triumph at Roland Garros in June.

But instead of building on her success on the Paris clay, the 21-year-old endured her earliest Grand Slam exit since another first-round loss at Wimbledon in 2023.

Yastremska powered to victory in 78 minutes on Court One, with Gauff joining third seed Jessica Pegula and fifth seed Zheng Qinwen as high-profile departures from the tournament on Tuesday.

Gauff, a two-time Grand Slam champion, has failed to get past the fourth round in each of her six visits to Wimbledon.

She paid the price for an unusually error-strewn display featuring nine double-faults, 29 unforced errors and just six winners.

Yastremska has previously claimed she has an allergy to grass, but the 25-year-old’s shock success against Gauff extended an impressive recent run on the surface.

Known as one of the more glamourous players on the women’s tour for her high-profile Instagram modelling, Yastremska made the Nottingham final and the Eastbourne quarter-finals in June.