Wimbledon 2025 shocker: Ukrainian tennis star defeats Coco Gauff in epic match
Dayana Yastremska (photo: Getty Images)
Ukrainian tennis player Dayana Yastremska triumphantly started her performance at Wimbledon 2025, defeating one of the tournament's main favorites, American Coco Gauff.
How Yastremska beat the world's second seed
In the opening round of the grass-court major, Dayana (WTA 42) delivered a sensational defeat to world No. 2 Coco Gauff, winning in two sets (7:6(3), 6:1). The match lasted 1 hour and 20 minutes.
This is Yastremska's first victory over Gauff. In the previous three encounters, the Ukrainian player has lost. The last time the two players met was in May in Madrid, where the American won in two sets.
This time, Yastremska took the initiative from the very beginning. In the first set, she led 5:2 but made several double faults, allowing her opponent to level the game. The set was decided in a tiebreak, which the Ukrainian player confidently won (7:3).
In the second set, Gauff couldn't return to the game, making 9 double faults, while Dayana finished the match confidently (6:1).
Career-record win for Ukrainian player
This victory at Wimbledon marked Yastremska's best result in her career, as she has now defeated the world No. 2 for the second time.
The first time this happened was in 2019 in Wuhan, China, when Dayana beat Karolina Pliskova.
Overall, this is Yastremska's fifth victory over top-10 WTA-ranked players. The last time she did this was at the 2024 Australian Open, eliminating Czech player Markéta Vondroušová.
"The first thing I want to say is that this court gives me a lot of positive emotions because I won here at the junior level. I was on fire," Yastremska said after her victory in a quick on-court interview.
Yastremska's next match
In the second round of Wimbledon, Dayana will play against neutral-status player Anastasia Zakharova, who defeated Victoria Azarenka in the first round.
Their match is scheduled for Thursday, July 3.
Ukrainians at Wimbledon 2025
Yastremska became the third Ukrainian to reach the second round of this year's Wimbledon.
Earlier, Elina Svitolina (with a win over Hungary's Anna Bondar) and Yulia Starodubtseva (who came back to beat British player Francesca Jones) advanced.
On the other hand, one of the country's top players, Marta Kostyuk, sensationally exited after the first match, losing to Slovenian player Veronika Erjavec.
