Cocciaretto Stuns Pegula at Wimbledon

LONDON: In a stunning upset, Elisabetta Cocciaretto of Italy defeated world number three Jessica Pegula, the Bad Homburg champion, in the first round of Wimbledon on Tuesday. Cocciaretto secured the win with a score of 6-2, 6-3 on Court Two.

From the start, Cocciaretto controlled the match. Pegula struggled with her serve, landing only half of her first serves, and managed just five winners while committing 24 unforced errors.

“It was terrible. It’s frustrating when something you’ve worked on doesn’t help when you want it to, especially on grass,” Pegula commented regarding her serve.

Pegula, who had a streak of 17 consecutive first-round wins at Grand Slams since 2021, expressed her disappointment but acknowledged her opponent’s strong performance. “It’s a bummer to lose. I’m upset I couldn’t turn things around. She played insanely. Kudos to her.”

Cocciaretto, ranked number 116 globally, impressed spectators and broke Pegula’s serve four times, avenging her loss to Pegula at Wimbledon two years prior.

Pegula struggled to adapt to Cocciaretto’s rhythm. “She forced a lot of errors, forcing me to change the pace and do different things,” Pegula noted.

“The bonus is I can prep for the hard courts, my favorite surface, and see if I can make more magic this summer,” she added. “This is the worst result I’ve had all year. I’ve been winning matches and playing good tennis, but sometimes it doesn’t align.”

This victory marks only the second top-10 win in Cocciaretto’s career.