Staff Reporter.
@Wimbledon.
Third-seeded Jessica Pegula was upset in the first round at Wimbledon on Tuesday, losing 6-2, 6-3 to 116th-ranked Elisabetta Cocciaretto for the American’s earliest exit at a Grand Slam tournament in five years.
The last time she lost in the first round at a major tournament was the French Open in 2020.
Pegula, quarterfinalist at Wimbledon in 2023, hit only five winners and made 24 unforced errors.
The 31-year-old had heavy strapping on her right knee but said that did not bother her as she was dismantled in just 58 minutes on court two.
“This is definitely probably the worst result I’ve had all year,” she said.
“I’ve been winning lots of matches. It’s just all about it having to come together for two weeks. Sometimes it doesn’t quite all align when you need it to.”
Pegula, fresh from beating Iga Swiatek to win the title at Bad Homburg in Germany last week, was predicted to go far at Wimbledon.
But while she has long lingered around the world’s top 10, consistent progress at Grand Slam level continues to elude her.
She has only once gone beyond the quarter-final stage of a major – at last year’s US Open where she lost to Aryna Sabalenka in the final.