American tennis star, Coco Gauff
American tennis star, Coco Gauff, was stunned on her return to action on Thursday, June 19, 2025, losing to Chinese qualifier Wang Xinyu 6-3, 6-3 at the Berlin Open.
According to MSN on June 19, 2025, the second-ranked Gauff, who won at Roland-Garros less than two weeks ago for her second Grand Slam title, amassed 25 unforced errors and seven double faults in her loss to Wang.
Gauff had a bye to the second round at the grass-court tournament, a warmup for Wimbledon.
“It was a tough one today but happy to be back on court,” Gauff wrote on her social media accounts.
“Tried my best to adjust with the quick turnaround but it wasn’t enough. As always, I’m learning as I go. So, I hope to do better next time.”
Gauff is now preparing for Wimbledon, which starts on June 30, 2025.
“Excited to get some more practices in to be ready for Wimbledon,” she added.
Wang who ranked No. 49, said she would have been pleased just with the first set on Thursday, June 19, 2025, considering the level of her opponent.
“After I won the first set, I just told myself ‘OK, let’s take a minute and enjoy this. I’m playing the French Open champion, and I won the first set,'” she said in her on-court interview.
“No matter how the second and third go, I was like, ‘OK, let’s just enjoy it for a second.'”
Wang, who will face Paula Badosa in the quarterfinals, added, “I’m really happy with how I played today. I was serving well and putting a lot of pressure on the return, especially second-serve return.”
Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka finished off Rebeka Masarova 6-2, 7-6 (6) in a match that was suspended Wednesday, June 18, 2025, after one set due to a slippery court.
Sabalenka had lost to Gauff at the French Open final and later apologised to the American for making “unprofessional” comments after the Paris title match.
Sabalenka will meet 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina in the quarterfinals.
PM/VPO
