US player Jessica Pegula reacts as she plays against Italy’s Elisabetta Cocciaretto during their women’s singles first round tennis match on the second day of the 2025 Wimbledon Championships on July 1, 2025. (Photo by Adrian Dennis / AFP)
American third seed Jessica Pegula admitted her shock straight-sets defeat against Italy’s Elisabetta Cocciaretto in the Wimbledon first round was her “worst result of the year.”
Pegula was demolished 6-2, 6-3 by the world number 116 in just 58 minutes on Court Two on Tuesday.
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It was a bitter blow for the 2024 US Open finalist, who has never been past the quarter-finals at the All England Club.
The 31-year-old played with heavy strapping on her right knee and never looked comfortable in a lacklustre performance.
“She played incredible tennis. Do I think I played the best match ever? No. But I wasn’t that bad. It was just her day today,” Pegula said.
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“I think I could have served better but I was having trouble with the conditions. It was very humid and the court was slow.
“I tried my best to match her level and I thought I would close the gap in the second set. But she didn’t drop her level at all. She was forcing a lot of my errors.”
Since losing last year’s US Open final against Aryna Sabalenka, world number three Pegula has been eliminated before the quarter-finals in all three of her Grand Slam appearances.
Elisabetta Cocciaretto of Italy celebrate winning her women’s first round singles match against Jessica Pegula of the U.S. at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Tuesday, July 1, 2025.(AP Photo/Joanna Chan)
“It’s probably the worst result I’ve had all year. I haven’t lost in the first round of a Slam for a long time. That sucks,” she said.
“I feel like I’m playing as well as I was at the end of last year. But it’s hard to put it all together over two weeks. Sometimes it doesn’t align.
“I managing the knee and I have a bit of a neck injury as well. But I feel good overall. That’s why it’s disappointing.
“The most frustrating thing was I wasn’t able to figure it out, which I feel I should be able to. ”
It was only Cocciaretto’s second win against a top-10 player.
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The 24-year-old has never been past the third round at Wimbledon and her best Grand Slam performance was a run to the last 16 at last year’s French Open.
