One of tennis’s brightest rising stars has written a new chapter of her Grand Slam story at the All England Club, as 22-year-old Coco Gauff pulled off a thrilling comeback against world No. 4 Jessica Pegula to advance to her first ever Wimbledon semi-final on Tuesday.
A two-time Grand Slam singles champion already with the 2023 US Open and 2025 French Open titles to her name, Gauff arrived at SW19 with unfulfilled potential on grass. She had never advanced past the tournament’s fourth round, and suffered a disappointing first-round exit 12 months ago. Few expected her to go deep into the draw this year, a doubt Gauff herself acknowledged after her historic win.
Facing the highest-ranked player remaining in the women’s singles draw, Gauff got off to a shaky start. A rash of unforced errors and four double faults left her dropping the opening set 4-6, with Pegula looking on course to secure a straight-sets victory. But the young American dug deep, just as she had done throughout the entire tournament to reach this stage. Pegula had squandered three early break point chances in the second set, and Gauff seized the momentum shift, breaking Pegula to love in a pivotal game before holding firm from 0-30 down on her own serve to close out the second set 6-3 and level the match.
The final set stayed tightly contested, but it was Gauff who lifted her game when it mattered most. After Pegula broke back to level the set, Gauff responded immediately to reclaim the lead at 4-3, then closed out the win on Pegula’s serve at her first match point. The 6-3 final set score locks in Gauff’s place in the final four, capping an unprecedented run to this stage: she is now the first woman in 30 years to reach a Grand Slam semi-final with four consecutive three-set wins, and the youngest player to have made the semi-finals of all four majors since Maria Sharapova achieved the same milestone at the 2007 French Open.
Speaking to reporters after the match, Gauff joked about the low expectations surrounding her run, saying: “I think a lot of people had me going out in the first or second round this tournament. After seven years playing in this tournament, it is the first time I’ve walked onto Centre Court and not felt nervous. So I don’t know – am I becoming a veteran already?”
In the day’s other quarter-final clash, Czech 10th seed Karolina Muchova ended former world No. 1 Naomi Osaka’s impressive tournament run with a 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 victory on Court One. Muchova, who fell at the quarter-final stage in both 2019 and 2021, will also make her first ever Wimbledon semi-final appearance, where she will face Gauff for a spot in Saturday’s women’s singles final.
For Pegula, the defeat extends her long wait for a first ever Grand Slam singles title, with the result likely to leave her reflecting on the early opportunities she failed to convert against the in-form young champion.