The 3 reigning French Open champions to lose in first round at Wimbledon as Coco Gauff joins list
Coco Gauff has become only the third woman to lose in the first round at Wimbledon just weeks after winning the French Open.
World No 2 enjoyed a memorable fortnight at Roland Garros as she defeated reigning Australian Open champion Madison Keys in the quarter-final and surprise wildcard Lois Boisson in the last eight to set up a final against world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka.
The American overcame a stuttering start to defeat Sabalenka as she claimed her second Grand Slam title.
Just three weeks later, Gauff was brought back down to earth as she was stunned by world No 42 Dayana Yastremska at Wimbledon with the Ukrainian winning 7-6 (7-3), 6-1.
The 21-year-old admitted during the post-match press conference that the quick turnaround between the French Open and Wimbledon had an impact.
“Even before this I’ve always had appreciation for people who win any Grand Slam,” she said.
“It’s definitely hard. Yeah, I mean, obviously if you can do this, you’re great. I would love to one day be able to accomplish that. If not, I just want to do well at this tournament one of these years.”
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Gauff added: “I feel like mentally I was a little bit overwhelmed with everything that came afterwards, so I didn’t feel like I had enough time to celebrate and also get back into it.
“But it’s the first time in this experience of, like, coming off a win and having to play Wimbledon. I definitely learned a lot of what I would and would not do again.
“I mean, also she played great. I mean, I saw the draw and knew it would be a tough match for me.”
Two-Person Club Becomes Three
Gauff joins Francesca Schiavone and Justine Henin as the French Open champions to go on to lose in the first round at Wimbledon.
Former world No 1 Henin is a four-time champion at Roland Garros and it was after her second title in 2005 that she fell at the first hurdle at Wimbledon.
The Belgian was seeded second in Paris in 2005 when she defeated Mary Pierce in the final, but the switch from clay to grass didn’t go according to plan as she made a first-round exit at the All England Club as she was beaten by Greek Eleni Daniilidou.
Henin successfully defended her Roland Garros crown in 2006 and she made a better fist of things at Wimbledon as she reached the final before losing against Amelie Mauresmo.
Five years after Henin became the first reigning French Open winner to lose her Wimbledon opener, Schiavone made it a two-person club.
The Italian was the surprise winner at Roland Garros in 2010 as she was seeded 17th and defeated Li Na (11), Caroline Wozniacki (3) and Elena Dementieva to reach the final where she went on to beat seventh seed Sam Stosur in straight sets.
Seeded fifth at the All England Club, Schiavone was stunned by Vera Dushevina in the opening round.
Stosur also lost in the first round at Wimbledon as she was beaten by Kaia Kanepi, making it the first time that both French Open finalists lost in the first round at Wimbledon.
