Shocking Upset on Centre Court
Centre Court at Wimbledon has always witnessed its share of surprises, but few saw this one coming. On a day expected to be routine for the world’s third-ranked tennis star, Jessica Pegula found herself at the wrong end of a major upset. Elisabetta Cocciaretto, sitting outside the top 100 at No. 116, stormed through their first-round clash, handing Pegula a swift 6-2, 6-3 defeat in under an hour.
The match barely lasted 58 minutes, but the impact was immediate. Pegula, who had soared into Wimbledon fresh off a commanding grass-court title at Bad Homburg—where she topped none other than Iga Swiatek—never found her footing against Cocciaretto. It marked the American’s quickest Grand Slam departure since 2020, slicing deep into the confidence she’d just built.
Cocciaretto’s Big Moment and Pegula’s Struggle
No one would say Cocciaretto coasted through. She came in with a clear game plan: push the pace and attack wherever possible. Her reward was not just a spot in the next round, but her career’s first win over a top-five player. Cocciaretto later credited her focus on aggressive play for the result, saying she relished the rare chance to play under the intense gaze of Wimbledon’s Centre Court crowd.
Pegula, on the other hand, just couldn’t shake off her nerves or errors. She racked up 24 unforced mistakes, managing only five winners—not the stats you’d link to a pre-tournament favorite. It was a rough mirror to Pegula’s past Grand Slam struggles; she began her major career with six first-round exits in seven attempts but had looked to have left those stumbles behind. Her run to the Wimbledon quarterfinals last year had raised expectations, yet she called this recent loss her ‘worst result’ of the season.
After the match, Cocciaretto was all class, praising Pegula as “an unbelievable player” and a true role model. For her, pulling off this upset was about embracing the underdog spirit and proving she could handle the game’s biggest stages with confidence and conviction.
This result will spark plenty of headlines and soul-searching for Pegula. For Cocciaretto, it could be the moment that launches something much bigger. Either way, Wimbledon continues to be a place where reputations are made or shaken—sometimes in less than an hour.