American third seed Jessica Pegula suffered a stunning first-round exit at Wimbledon today, falling 6-2, 6-3 to unseeded Italian Elisabetta Cocciaretto on court two.
The world number three, who is the daughter of billionaire Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres owners Terry and Kim Pegula, was dismantled in just 58 minutes by Cocciaretto, ranked 113 places below her at 116 in the world.
The 31-year-old American called the defeat her "worst result of the year" after making 24 unforced errors and failing to create a single break point throughout the match.
"This is definitely probably the worst result I've had all year," Pegula said after the match.
Jessica Pegula is out of Wimbledon after a disastrous first round
PA
"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."
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The American, who had heavy strapping on her right knee but said it did not affect her performance, struggled throughout the encounter.
She hit just five winners compared to 24 unforced errors and was broken in the third game of the opening set.
Cocciaretto wrapped up the first set in just 25 minutes before breaking Pegula again in the seventh game of the second set.
The defeat marks Pegula's worst performance at a major since the 2020 French Open. "I haven't lost first round of a Slam in a very long time, so that sucks," she admitted.
Her 2025 season has been plagued by early exits, including a first-round loss at the French Open last month to world number 361 Lois Boisson and a third-round departure at the Australian Open.
Despite reaching her first Grand Slam final at last year's US Open where she lost to Aryna Sabalenka, Pegula has failed to progress beyond the quarter-finals in all three majors since then.
The defeat represents a significant upset for Pegula, whose parents Terry and Kim Pegula have a net worth of more than $7.9 billion (£5.8m) according to Forbes.
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Jessica Pegula called the defeat her "worst result of the year"
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The couple own the NFL's Buffalo Bills and NHL's Buffalo Sabres.
For Cocciaretto, the victory marked a historic achievement as she became the first Italian to defeat a WTA top-three player at a major since the 2015 US Open.
The 24-year-old had previously faced Pegula at Wimbledon in 2023, losing 6-4, 6-0.
Pegula had arrived at the Championships fresh from defeating Iga Swiatek to win the title at Bad Homburg in Germany last week.
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