Ukraine Star Who Defeated Coco Gauff’s Wimbledon Hope Announces Cincinnati Open Withdrawal

Coco Gauff’s path at the Cincinnati Open was set to be an uphill climb — but it just got smoother. Since her French Open run, the World No. 2 has been chasing her next title. Early exits in Berlin and Wimbledon, plus a crushing Round of 16 loss in Montreal to 19-year-old Victoria Mboko, stalled her momentum. Now, she’s finding her rhythm again at Cincinnati. She opened with a confident straight-sets win over Xinyu Wang. Hype was building for her Round of 32 clash with Dayana Yastremska. But then came a twist.

On Tuesday, just ahead of their showdown, Dayana Yastremska withdrew due to illness. With this Gauff advanced by walkover and reported by Tennis journalist Jose Morgadoon X. He also shared the update alongside the day’s revised match schedule. But this just gives the American a boost to the title.

It’s not how Coco Gauff imagined moving forward. This was a match many had looked forward to. The last time they met, the Ukrainian stunned her 7-6, 6-1 at Wimbledon just last month. Gauff may not have wanted to relive that defeat, but she stayed positive. As she said in her post-match presser then, “I’m not going to dwell on this too long because I want to do well at the U.S. Open.”

Since then, she’s picked up the pace. From early exits to deeper runs — she fought through Danielle Collins and Veronika Kudermetova at the Canadian Open. Those wins showed grit. And this week, she got her revenge on Wang Xinyu. The Chinese player had beaten her at the Berlin Open. This time, Gauff was sharp. She won 6-3, 6-2. Fast, aggressive, and in control. The signs are good for the defending U.S. Open champion.

However, Gauff also faced a few issues in her game. Coco Gauff’s rollercoaster in Montreal took fans for a wild ride. In her opening clash against Danielle Collins, she fired 23 double faults and racked up a jaw-dropping 74 unforced errors but somehow still clawed out a gritty 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(2) victory after nearly three hours on court.

The drama didn’t slow down. In her next match, Gauff fell behind by a set and a break to Veronika Kudermetova and hit another 14 double faults, yet she battled through again, showing the kind of stubborn resilience that has defined her season. But coming into Cincinnati against Wang, after serving eight double faults in her first three service games, Gauff had zero the rest of the way. And she was actually ready to take on Yastremska in the R32!

Coco Gauff was ready to leave Wimbledon defeat in the past

Fresh off her convincing 6-3, 6-2 win over Wang Xinyu, Coco stepped into the press room with confidence — but not with revenge on her mind. Asked if she was eyeing payback against Dayana Yastremska, she shook that idea off. “Umm, I don’t ever think of like a revenge type of tennis,” Gauff said. “At first, I used to think like that, but then I’m like, I’ve played too many people too many times to have like a revenge mindset, but no, I think for me, it’s a good measure to see where my game is.”

Gauff and Yastremska have clashed four times in their careers. The American leads their head-to-head 3-1, but here’s the twist, none of those matches have been on hard courts. Their most recent battle was last month at Wimbledon, where Coco Gauff was bounced out early.

Reflecting on that loss, she didn’t sugarcoat things. “I felt that Wimbledon match was, you know, it was just a tough loss for me, and I don’t think I approached it as well,” she admitted. “And Dayana, I always have trouble against her. She’s a tough opponent, a great ball striker, and can pull winners out of anywhere. So yeah, it’ll be a tough test for me, especially having to play her again.”

Well, now that rematch will have to wait. It’s a bittersweet twist, but now her focus shifts to the winner of Jelena Ostapenko vs. Lucia Bronzetti in the fourth round! With the way she came out swinging against Wang, the big question is: Will she ride this momentum into a deep run? Share your thoughts in the comments below!