Who would have thought that the two-time slam queen Coco Gauff would fail to clear her first round at Wimbledon? Basking in the glory of her French Open triumph last month, the World No.2 was expected to deliver a similar performance at the grass major too. While she wasn’t in the best of form, the 21-year-old was still among the potential title contenders. However, the American WTA star couldn’t impress at all against a formidable opponent like Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska. The result? The World No.42 ousted Gauff in straight sets with a score line of 7-6(3), 6-1. Following the defeat, the American was rendered speechless.

“I definitely was struggling in the locker room. I don’t like losing. I just feel a little bit disappointed in how I showed up today.” But now, days after her exit, Gauff has hinted she’s beginning to embrace life again.

The 2024 WTA Finals winner shared a string of Instagram stories a few hours ago, dated July 3. She was at a concert in London, witnessing a live performance by popular American singer and songwriter Faye Webster. It’s the first time she’s shared an update on social media regarding her whereabouts following the setback at the All England Club. The loss against Yastremska was a shocker for many, considering Gauff had a 3-0 H2H record against her prior to this meeting. However, all her victories against the Ukrainian came on the clay court.

But this time, on the grass, the American couldn’t find a way to beat Yastremska. Her underwhelming performance can be understood by the fact that she committed 9 double faults and a total of 29 unforced errors. Compared to Yastremska’s 16 winners, Gauff could only hit 6.

During the post-match conference, the World No.2 admitted to the lack of consistency in her game. “I think I didn’t serve that well and yeah, I mean obviously I have to be able to counter that and also be as aggressive too as she is at times,” she said.

Moreover, she also talked about how she failed to make a smooth transition from clay to grass. After a grinding clay season that also saw her lift the Suzanne Lenglen trophy, she had to immediately adjust to the green surface. “I think it’s just you know changing my playing style a little bit, which is difficult cuz for me it’s like I approach Clay and I play this one way for however long Clay season is 6 to 8 weeks or I don’t know. And then I feel like when I go hard, I don’t have to change as much, but I still have to adjust it a little bit.”

While Gauff was left devastated with the first round result, her opponent was obviously elated. Not to mention she was overwhelmed after besting the American for the first time.

Coco Gauff’s Wimbledon opponent shares honest feelings after victory

Compared to Coco Gauff, Dayana Yastremska’s performance on grass has been stable this season. While the American was out early in Berlin last month, the Ukrainian succeeded in reaching the final in Nottingham. But that’s not it. She even made it to the quarterfinal stage of another grass event in Eastbourne.

Clearly, she had much-needed momentum on her side. Hence, she was able to defy the past 0-3 record against Gauff. “First thing I am going to say is that this court brings me a lot of nice memories because I played here at juniors finals on this court, so it gave me a lot of emotions.” reported The Tennis Gazette on July 1. She added, “I think it was a great match today. I was really on fire. I have even fire on my nails.”

On her matchup with Gauff, she said, “Playing against Coco (Gauff) is something special. I played her already three times, it’s 3-1 to her. So she is a great player and a great person. We have a very good relationship.” In the second round, the World No.42 will face Russia’s Anastasia Zakharova. The latter is coming off a big win over WTA veteran Victoria Azarenka.

Coco Gauff is trying to forget the Wimbledon result altogether. After all, the season’s still far from over. There’s one more slam to look forward to – the US Open. Her avid fans hope to see her solid return to court soon.

While Coco prepares for her US Open comeback, stay updated with every twist and turn in the Championships with our Live Blog.