What went wrong for Coco Gauff at Wimbledon? - ESPN

WIMBLEDON, England — Coco Gauff suffered a shock defeat in the first round at Wimbledon on Tuesday, her earliest exit at a Grand Slam since losing in her first match at Wimbledon two years ago. The champion at Roland Garros last month, the American hit nine double faults and struggled throughout as she lost 7-6 (3), 6-1 to Dayana Yastremska, the world No. 42 player, from Ukraine.

Here's what went wrong:

Gauff's serve has always been vulnerable but usually she's able to find a way through and find a way to deal with things when they break down. On Tuesday, even though the roof was closed, which took away any issue with the elements, Gauff struggled for rhythm.

The second serve, in particular, broke down and for once, it weighed too heavily on her shoulders. With Yastremska standing tight to the baseline, the pressure was ramped up. In total, Gauff hit nine double faults and won only 44% of points on her second serve. Landing just 45% of her first serves left her vulnerable, and Yastremska took full advantage.

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Winning the French Open last month clearly took a lot out of Gauff. The American had to work enormously hard to get through the draw in Paris, and the final was especially arduous, when the wind made life tough for both her and Aryna Sabalenka.

Ideally after winning a Grand Slam title, a break would be the right thing to do, but Gauff had little time to recover, mentally. She lost her