“I have time to reset”: Coco Gauff shares future plans after Wimbledon first-round exit

America’s Coco Gauff has opened up about how difficult it was for her to deal with an unexpected defeat in the first round of Wimbledon. The third Grand Slam started on Monday and has already witnessed several shocking results.

One of them saw the reigning French Open champion Gauff knocked out after losing to Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska in straight sets with a score of 7-6, 6-1. It was Gauff’s ninth defeat in 40 matches this year. It was the second occasion in six appearances at Wimbledon where Gauff was knocked out after losing in the first round. The last time it happened was back in 2023.

Talking after the match, Gauff admitted that it was hard to accept such a performance in a mega-event. Gauff also stated that coming into the competition, she felt confident, especially after her success at the Roland Garros.

"I'm trying to be positive," Gauff said. "After the match, I definitely was struggling in the locker room. I don't like losing. For me, the main thing I'm sure my team and everyone is going to tell me is, ‘You did well at Roland Garros, don't be so upset,' things like that. I don't really like losing. I don't know, I just feel a little bit disappointed in how I showed up today. I feel like I could have been a little bit better in those tough tiebreaker moments, especially after Roland Garros, where I felt like I learned a lot in those tiebreakers.”

Gauff stated that she is looking forward to learning from the dismal show at Wimbledon and preparing for the US Open. She also said that, in her opinion, Wimbledon’s first round, looking at historical data, has brought about the most upsets out of all the Grand Slams.

"Obviously I'm not going to dwell on this too long because I want to do well at the US Open,” she said. "Maybe losing in the first round here isn't the worst thing in the world because I have time to reset. It definitely sucks. I feel like historically, Wimbledon always has so many upsets in the first round. Most of the seeds are going deeper in Roland Garros, and then you spend like a long clay season, and then you have to come and try to adjust to grass."