By Richard Pagliaro | @TennisNow | Wednesday, July 2, 2025
Photograph credit score: Jon Buckle/ROLEX
Wimbledon—The grass recreation stays a slippery slope for Coco Gauff.
Flat-hitting Dayana Yastremska toppled reigning Roland Garros champion Gauff 7-6(3), 6-1 sending the world No. 2 crashing out of her Wimbledon opener on Tuesday.
It’s Gauff’s second first-round exit at The Championships within the final three years and diminished her to tears within the locker room and in her post-match press convention..
Two years in the past, Gauff misplaced to former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin in her Wimbledon opener.
The 2-time Grand Slam champion made ignominious historical past with Tuesday’s exit. Gauff is the primary reigning Roland Garros champion since Francesca Schiavone in 2010 to lose within the Wimbledon first spherical. Gauff joined Schiavone and Justine Henin, who fell to Eleni Daniilidou on the 2005 Wimbledon, as simply the third French Open title holder to fall in Wimbledon’s first spherical.
So what’s the difficulty and the way can Gauff, who has but to surpass the Wimbledon spherical of 16, enhance her grass recreation?
Clearly, Gauff’s excessive western forehand grip makes it tough for her to dig out low balls on garden. That was obvious in opposition to the flat-hitting Yastremska, who belted 10 extra winners within the match and was extra assertive taking part in first-strike tennis.
Afterward, Gauff pointed to 2 major areas of enchancment she should make on grass:
1. Sharper Serving
2. Asserting her aggression extra and beat opponents to the punch on garden.
Gauff, who served successfully in her Roland Garros run, served simply 45 p.c, received solely 44 p.c of second-serve factors and struck simply 6 winners in a 79-minute loss to Yastremska.
Grass success begins along with her serve, Gauff stated, as a result of when she’s touchdown it she will be able to play off the entrance foot and be much less reactive.
“Positively serving higher. I imply, after I can serve properly, and a few video games I did, it is positively an added menace. I believe I did not serve that properly,” Gauff stated. “Yeah, I imply, clearly I’ve to have the ability to counter that and likewise be as aggressive too as she is at instances.”
The problem for Gauff, who has reached the Roland Garros closing in two of the final 4 years, is her clay success limits her transition time to grass. That makes modifying her recreation model for grass powerful as a result of she’s taking part in longer on clay. One other problem is underneath stress, Gauff tends to depend on her legs and defensive expertise, which works properly on clay however isn’t a profitable grass method.
“I believe it is simply altering my taking part in model just a little bit, which is tough, ‘trigger for me it is like I strategy clay and I play this a method for nevertheless lengthy clay season is, six to eight weeks, or I do not know,” Gauff stated. “Then I really feel like after I go on exhausting, I haven’t got to alter as a lot, however I nonetheless have to regulate it just a little bit.”
Time is on the 21-year-old Gauff’s aspect and he or she has proven problem-solving expertise on exhausting courtroom and clay. The query is: Can Gauff play a extra assertive model on grass with out modifying her excessive forehand grip?
Another choice for Gauff, who has been a robust doubles participant, is to attempt to impose her web expertise extra usually. In yesterday’s loss, Gauff received three of 5 journeys to web.
Transferring ahead, Gauff could properly need to attempt to apply her web recreation to grass. Nevertheless that additionally requires taking part in nearer to the baseline, which could be a problem for Gauff given her extra expansive backswing on the forehand aspect.
A disconsolate Gauff shed tears on the finish of her post-match presser, however stated she’ll attempt to use her time without work to recalibrate for the US Open.
“I really feel like I might have been just a little bit higher in these powerful tiebreaker moments, particularly after Roland Garros, the place I felt like I discovered lots in these tiebreakers,” Gauff stated. “Yeah, I imply, clearly I am not going to dwell on this too lengthy as a result of I need to do properly at US Open.
“Perhaps dropping right here first spherical is not the worst factor on the planet as a result of I’ve time to reset. Yeah, positively sucks.”
