“It felt like a dream,” Gauff had reflected in a pre-tournament interview with The Associated Press. “I’ll always have special memories from that run... It definitely fueled the belief that I can be on tour and live out my dream.”
Now 21 and ranked No. 2 in the world, Gauff had every reason to believe she could make a deep run — perhaps even win the title that once ignited her ambitions. But by Tuesday night, those hopes had unravelled abruptly under the Centre Court lights.
In a stunning first-round upset, Gauff was beaten 7-6 (3), 6-1 by Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska, an unseeded but dangerous opponent whose flat, aggressive groundstrokes exploited Gauff’s inconsistency. The American committed nine double faults and more than two dozen unforced errors in a match marked by tension and frustration.
“I definitely was struggling in the locker room,” Gauff admitted afterwards, holding back tears in a post-match press conference. “I don’t like losing... I felt a little bit disappointed in how I showed up today.”
The loss comes just weeks after Gauff claimed her second Grand Slam title — this time on the clay courts of Roland-Garros, where she defeated World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in a three-set final. That victory followed her 2023 U.S. Open win and further cemented her status as one of the sport’s dominant forces.
But Wimbledon has proven to be a different story entirely. Despite her breakthrough debut in 2019 — which famously included a first-round win over Venus Williams — Gauff has never advanced past the fourth round at SW19. This is now her second first-round exit in three years at the tournament she once called her "start of the dream."
Yastremska, who played fearlessly throughout the encounter, was candid in her assessment. “I think Coco is much better on clay court and hard court than on grass,” she said.
Indeed, Gauff’s résumé backs that up. She has reached at least the semifinals at every other major — the Australian Open, French Open, and U.S. Open — with Wimbledon remaining the lone exception. Grass, with its lower bounce and quicker pace, continues to resist her natural rhythm and baseline-heavy game.
Adding to the pressure this year were distractions off the court, including media chatter over Sabalenka’s pointed post-match comments in Paris — which the players later tried to play down with joint TikTok videos during their time in London.
“I was a little bit overwhelmed with everything that came afterwards,” Gauff admitted. “So I didn’t feel like I had enough time to celebrate and also get back into it.”
That reality speaks to the challenges of transitioning from the physically demanding clay of Roland-Garros to the fast, often unpredictable grass of Wimbledon — a shift so difficult that no woman has won both in the same season since Serena Williams did it in 2015.
Still, Gauff was already looking forward. “Maybe losing here in the first round isn’t the worst thing in the world,” she said with a sense of perspective. “I have time to reset.”
That reset will begin with the upcoming North American hard-court swing, culminating at the U.S. Open — the site of her first major triumph. It’s a familiar surface, and one that has always brought out her best tennis.
Wimbledon, meanwhile, will have to wait. For Gauff, the full-circle moment she dreamed of has been delayed. But the dream itself remains alive — and unfinished.