Coco Gauff was struggling for the second time in as many matches this week at the U.S. Open.
At one point during her second-round match against Donna Vekic on Thursday in Arthur Ashe Stadium, the world’s No. 3-ranked player became overwhelmed and couldn’t stop the tears from flowing.
Gauff played through it all, however, and advanced with a 7-6 (5), 6-2 victory. She became emotional again afterward as she thanked the crowd for its support.
“You really helped me a lot,” the two-time major championship winner said during her post-match interview.
Gauff indicated that one member of the crowd in particular provided extra inspiration during the match — U.S. gymnastics legend Simone Biles. The seven-time Olympic gold medalist has been open about her mental health struggles during a career in which she has also won 23 world titles.
“Honestly, I saw her and … she helped me pull it out,” said Gauff, who later told reporters that her “Mount Rushmore of athletes” consisted of Biles and tennis legend Serena Williams. “I was just thinking if she could go on a six-inch beam and do that, with all the pressures of the world, then I can hit the ball in this 75 — I don’t know how big this court is.
Coco Gauff reacts after defeating Donna Vekic during the second round of the U.S. Open on Thursday in New York.
(Frank Franklin II / Associated Press)
“So, yeah, I saw her late in the second getting interviewed by ESPN and, yeah, it brought me a little bit of calm, just knowing her story, with all the things she went through mentally. So, she’s an inspiration, surely, and her presence definitely did help me today.”
During her in-match interview with ESPN’s Katie George, Biles said she came to the U.S. Open specifically to watch Gauff.
“She’s incredible, amazing, and it’s like, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Biles said. “It’s just such a privilege to watch her on home soil and watch Black Girl Magic.”
“Gymnastics is so different, so I just wanted to scream, ‘Go, Coco!’” Biles told Gauff. “But then they were like, ‘Maybe not right now.’ And I was like, ‘Got it.’ But congrats. I love watching you, everything you do.”
The winner of the 2023 U.S. Open and 2025 French Open told her idol: “You’re such an inspiration. Like, seriously. What I said in the [on-court] interview, I was thinking about that literally.
“My mom did gymnastics on a way lower level than you. And so, she was like, ‘If I can focus on that, then you can do that.’ So, I was like, ‘OK, I guess you’re right.’ … You’re an inspiration, seriously.”
LONDON — A little more than two years ago, Amanda Anisimova took a break from tennis because of burnout. A year ago, working her way back into the game, the American lost when she had to go through qualifying for Wimbledon because her ranking of 189th was too low to get into the main bracket automatically.
Look at Anisimova now: She’s a Grand Slam finalist for the first time after upsetting No. 1-ranked Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in a compelling contest at a steamy Centre Court on Thursday.
In Saturday’s final, Anisimova will face Iga Swiatek, who is a five-time major champion but advanced to her first title match at the All England Club with a 6-2, 6-0 victory over Belinda Bencic.
Swiatek was dominant throughout, never letting Bencic get into their semifinal and wrapping things up in 71 minutes with serves at up to 119 mph and twice as many winners, 26, as unforced errors, 13.
So it turns out she can do just fine on grass courts, thank you very much.
“Tennis keeps surprising me. I thought I lived through everything, even though I’m young. I thought I experienced everything on the court. But I didn’t experience playing well on grass,” Swiatek said. “That’s the first time.”
She’s 5-0 in major finals — 4-0 on the French Open’s clay, 1-0 on the U.S. Open’s hard courts — but only once had been as far as the quarterfinals at Wimbledon until now. It’s been more than a year since Swiatek won a title anywhere, part of why the 24-year-old from Poland relinquished the top ranking to Sabalenka in October and is seeded No. 8 this fortnight.
Saturday’s winner will be the eighth consecutive first-time Wimbledon women’s champion.
The 13th-seeded Anisimova, who was born in New Jersey and grew up in Florida, was playing in her second major semifinal after losing at that stage at the 2019 French Open at age 17.
“This doesn’t feel real right now,” Anisimova said after ending the 2-hour, 36-minute contest with a forehand winner on her fourth match point. “I was absolutely dying out there. I don’t know how I pulled it out.”
In May 2023, Anisimova took time off, saying she had been “struggling with my mental health” for nearly a year.
Now 23, she is playing as well as ever, her crisp groundstrokes, particularly on the backhand side, as strong and smooth as anyone’s. She is guaranteed to break into the top 10 of the WTA rankings for the first time next week, no matter what happens in the title match.
“If you told me I would be in the final of Wimbledon, I would not believe you,” Anisimova said with a laugh. “At least not this soon, because it’s been a year turnaround since coming back and to be in this spot, it’s not easy. … To be in the final is just indescribable, honestly.”
For Sabalenka, who is 0-3 in semifinals at the All England Club, this defeat prevented her from becoming the first woman to reach four consecutive Grand Slam finals since Serena Williams won four major trophies in a row a decade ago.
Sabalenka missed Wimbledon last year because of an injured shoulder, then won the U.S. Open in September for her third Slam title.
She was the runner-up to Madison Keys at the Australian Open, and to Coco Gauff at the French Open, where Sabalenka’s post-match comments drew criticism and led her to apologize privately and publicly to Gauff. Sabalenka and Gauff smoothed things over before the start of play at the All England Club, dancing together and posting videos on social media.
On Thursday, Sabalenka began her news conference with as simple a statement as can be, “She was the better player,” then laughed.
“Losing sucks, you know?” she added in response to the first question from a reporter. “You always feel like … you don’t want to exist anymore.”
Anisimova improved to 6-3 against Sabalenka, a 27-year-old from Belarus, and two of the hardest hitters in the game traded booming shots and loud shouts.
They smacked big serves: Sabalenka reached 120 mph, Anisimova 112 mph. They ended points quickly with first-strike aggressiveness. And Anisimova saved 11 of the 14 break points she faced.
The average exchange was over after just three shots. By the end, 167 of the 214 total points lasted fewer than five strokes, and just seven contained nine or more.
Probably a good thing, too, given the heat.
The temperature hit 88 degrees in the first set, which was delayed twice because spectators in the lower level — with no shade — felt unwell.
LONDON — Before Wimbledon began, Coco Gauff reflected on the significance of her breakthrough performance at the place six years ago — a run to the fourth round at age 15 — and what aspirations she harbored as she prepared to return.
“Even when I see videos of me during that time, it just doesn’t feel like it’s me. It felt like a dream. I’ll always have special memories from that run and, I guess, it definitely fueled the belief that I can be on tour and live out my dream,” she told The Associated Press.
“It’s something that always holds a special place in my heart. Obviously, I would love to win this tournament just for it to be like a full-circle moment,” she continued. “I feel like it would be like the start of the dream, and — I don’t want to say ‘the finish,’ because I obviously have a lot of career left, but — a full-circle type of situation.”
A week after that conversation, the No. 2-ranked Gauff was out of the bracket at the All England Club in the first round with a 7-6 (3), 6-1 loss to unseeded Dayana Yastremska at No. 1 Court on Tuesday night. Gauff was undone by serving troubles, including nine double-faults, and more than two dozen unforced errors in all, not to mention Yastremska’s hard, flat groundstrokes.
It was an abrupt, and mistake-filled, exit for Gauff, who so recently earned her second Grand Slam title — at the French Open via a three-set victory over No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the final.
After Tuesday’s defeat, Gauff said, “I definitely was struggling in the locker room. I don’t like losing. The main thing I’m sure my team and everyone is going to tell me (is): ‘You did well at Roland-Garros. Don’t be so upset.’ Things like that.”
But as much as she’ll want to move on and focus on what’s to come, the 21-year-old American acknowledged as she dabbed away the tears welling in her eyes during her news conference that she felt “a little bit disappointed in how I showed up today.”
It’s instructive to remember — setting aside that captivating 2019 debut, which featured a victory over Venus Williams — that Wimbledon’s grass courts actually have produced Gauff’s least successful Grand Slam results.
Yastremska’s take? She said she considers Gauff “much better on clay court and hard court than on grass.”
This was the second time in the past three years that she was sent home in the opening round. She’s never been past the fourth round at the All England Club, whereas at every other major tournament, including the hard-court Australian Open, she’s at least reached the semifinals.
Her first Slam trophy arrived on the hard courts of the U.S. Open in 2023 when she was 19. She already was the 2022 runner-up on the red clay at the French Open before going one step better this time.
Sabalenka’s self-described “unprofessional” comments after last month’s title match in Paris became a real topic of conversation and, perhaps, a distraction. Gauff and Sabalenka sought to put it behind them — and tell fans they should, too — by filming TikTok videos together once they got to Wimbledon.
“I was a little bit overwhelmed with everything that came afterwards,” Gauff said, “so I didn’t feel like I had enough time to celebrate and also get back into it.”
It’s not easy to manage the tricky transition from the Roland-Garros clay to the Wimbledon grass. There’s a reason it’s been a decade since a woman won both in the same season — and a reason that woman was Serena Williams.
By the end of the night, Gauff was eager to look ahead to the upcoming North American hard-court circuit, culminating with a trip to New York in late August.
“I mean, obviously I’m not going to dwell on this too long, because I want to do well at the U.S. Open. Maybe losing here (in the) first round isn’t the worst thing in the world,” she said, “because I have time to reset.”
LONDON — To be clear, Coco Gauff didn’t bring up the word “star” during a recent interview with the Associated Press; the reporter did. So as Gauff began to answer a question about balancing her life as a professional athlete with her off-court interests, she caught herself repeating that term.
“I definitely didn’t know how it would look like,” she began with a smile, “before I got to be, I guess, a star — feels weird to call myself that — but I definitely did want to expand outside of tennis. Always. Since I was young.”
She still is young, by just about any measure, and she is a really good tennis player — Gauff owns the Grand Slam titles and No. 2 ranking to prove it as she heads into Wimbledon, which begins Monday — but the 21-year-old American is also more than that.
Someone unafraid to express her opinions about societal issues. Someone who connects with fans via social media. Someone who is the highest-paid female athlete in any sport, topping $30 million last year, according to Sportico.com, with less than a third of that from prize money and most via deals with companies such as UPS, New Balance, Rolex and Barilla. Someone who recently launched her own management firm.
And someone who wants to succeed in the business world long after she no longer swings a racket on tour.
“It’s definitely something that I want to start to step up for post-career. Kind of start building that process, which is why I wanted to do it early. Because I didn’t want to feel like I was playing catch-up at the end of my career,” said Gauff, who will face Dayana Yastremska in the first round at the All England Club on Tuesday.
Coco Gauff, left, and Aryna Sabalenka dance on the court Friday during a practice session ahead of the Wimbledon tournament.
(Kin Cheung / Associated Press)
“On the business side of things, it doesn’t come as natural as tennis feels. I’m still learning, and I have a lot to learn about,” Gauff said. “I’ve debated different things and what paths I wanted to take when it came to just stimulating my brain outside of the court, because I always knew that once I finished high school that I needed to put my brain into something else.”
In a campaign announced this week by UPS, which first partnered with Gauff in 2023 before she won that year’s U.S. Open, she connects with business coach Emma Grede — known for working with Kim Kardashian on Skims, and with Khloe Kardashian on Good American — to offer mentoring to three small-business owners.
“Coco plays a key role in helping us connect with those younger Gen-Z business owners — emerging or younger entrepreneurs,” Betsy Wilson, vice president of digital marketing and brand activation at UPS, said in a phone interview. “Obviously, she’s very relevant in social media and in culture, and working with Coco helps us really connect with that younger group.”
While Grede helped the entrepreneurs, Gauff also got the opportunity to pick up tips.
“It’s really cool to learn from someone like her,” Gauff said. “Whenever I feel like I’m ready to make that leap, I can definitely reach out to her for advice and things like that. … This will help me right now and definitely in the long term.”
THE most iconic tennis tournament in the world is BACK for another year of scintillating action.
All eyes turn to the capital, as tennis superstars, celebrities, royalty and tens of thousands of fans descend on Wimbledon for two weeks of non-stop action.
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Carlos Alcaraz is aiming to win a third successive Wimbledon titleCredit: The Times
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Coco Gauff is among a number of women’s singles stars aiming for a first Wimbledon titleCredit: Getty
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Emma Raducanu reached the fourth round in 2024Credit: GETTY
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Brit heartthrob Jack Draper is hoping to go past the second round for the first time
Back-to-back winner Carlos Alcaraz is looking to build on a thrilling Roland Garros victory over rival and world No 1 Jannik Sinner this summer.
The 22-year-old star has already gone one better in SW19 than Rafael Nadal as the only Spaniard to win the men’s singles tournament in consecutive years, with two Nadal’s two titles in 2008 and 2010 split by Roger Federer in 2009.
Furthermore, Alcaraz goes into the tournament fresh off a Queen’s Club win after beating Jiri Lehecka by straight sets.
Last year’s women’s finalist Jasmine Paolini will be among names such as Coco Cauff and Arnya Sabalenka in the list of women looking for their first singles title at Wimbledon.
Gauff and Sabalenka were Roland Garros finalists, while Paolini won the women’s doubles title alongside Sara Errani.
Barbora Krejcikova is the defending women’s champion but has endured an injury-hit season and lost in the first round at Queen’s.
When is Wimbledon 2025?
Wimbledon 2025 takes place over the course of two weeks in the summer
The tournament will be played between Monday, June 30 and Sunday, July 13.
The men’s singles final will be on Sunday, July 13 while the women’s singles final will be on Saturday, July 12.
How to watch Wimbledon 2025 for FREE in the UK
Wimbledon remains FREE to watch in the UK in 2025.
The BBC will show ALL of the action from the capital this summer.
While they will remain the main domestic broadcaster of the tournament, TNT Sports will show the men’s and women’s singles finals, as well as a 90 minute highlight package each day.
However, full coverage will remain free, as mentioned above, on the BBC.
It will be broadcast across BBC TV channels, the BBC Sport website and can be live streamed on iPlayer.
Alternatively, SunSport will be running a blog with all the latest news and live action as it happens from the All England Club.
Are tickets still available for Wimbledon 2025?
In short, yes – tickets are still available for EVERY day of Wimbledon.
It is a much tougher ask to guarantee exactly which matches you could see on a specific day, however.
The ballot for specific matches and tickets has closed but Wimbledon remains one of the only remaining sporting events where the public can buy tickets on the day of play.
The Queue remains a very popular way to attend the event, although we’d advise early arrival (or even the night before).
Each day it is possible to purchase a limited number of Show Court tickets or Grounds tickets.
The different tickets will allow specific access to certain courts.
There is limited availability on both, but tickets do also frequently become available later in the day should those already inside choose to leave.
Wimbledon also offers a variety of hospitality packages which includes fine-dining, complimentary drinks, prime seating, a concierge service and buggy shuttles to the Gate.
Alternatively, tickets for specific matches on Centre Court, Court 1 and elsewhere are available to purchase on secondary ticket sites such as StubHub.
Hospitality packages can also be purchased via Seat Unique.
*Please note that StubHub and similar secondary ticket resale sites may list tickets above face value.*
Wimbledon Ticket Options
There are a range of ways to get into Wimbledon…
The Queue
As one of the only major sporting events that allows guests to purchase tickets on the day of the event, demand is high.
Each day a large queue forms of people wanting either a Grounds or Show Court ticket – with many even arriving the night before and camping to guarantee a place.
Upon arrival, visitors are issued a Queue Card, which is numbered and dated and should be kept until a ticket has been purchased.
While there is a limited number of entries, it is possible to remain in the queue and wait for people already inside to leave, with those tickets then becoming available.
It is also possible to check the status of the queue on the Wimbledon website.
This year, organisers are asking potential queuers to download the Wimbledon app and create a myWimbledon account.
Show Tickets
If you get to the front of the queue, then there are a limited number of tickets available for purchase for Centre Court and Courts 1, 2 and 3.
Note that Centre Court tickets are available for the first 10 days of the tournament, the final four days were already pre-sold.
Prices vary depending on the Court, seat and day of the event and will increase the further into the tournament you visit.
For example, Centre Court rows A-T cost £105 on Day 1 and £315 on Day 14 (men’s final).
Grounds Pass
A Grounds Pass costs £30 and allows visitors to watch matches on Courts 3-18 on unreserved seats, though there will also be a queue to get into Court 3.
Ticket Resale
From 3pm each day, tickets may become available from people who have left Wimbledon and made their seat available.
A Grounds Pass is needed to join the virtual queue on the Wimbledon App.
Tickets cost £15 for Centre Court or £10 for Courts 1/2.
Hospitality
There are a range of hospitality packages still available on the Wimbledon website.
Hospitality packages offer guaranteed premium seating to major matches as well as fine dining experiences, complimentary drinks, a shuttle and concierge service.
Hospitality packages can also be purchased via Seat Unique.
Secondary Markets
Sites such as StubHub offer tickets for the main courts for specific days and times.
*Please note that StubHub and similar secondary ticket resale sites may list tickets above face value.*
PARIS — Coco Gauff has won the French Open for the first time by defeating top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-4 in Saturday’s final.
The second-ranked Gauff came out on top of a contest that was full of tension and momentum swings to claim her second major trophy after the 2023 U.S Open, where she also came from a set down to beat Sabalenka in the final.
It was the first No. 1 vs. No. 2 final in Paris since 2013, when Serena Williams defeated Maria Sharapova, and just the second in the last 30 years.
After Sabalenka sent a backhand wide on Gauff’s second match point, the 21-year-old American fell onto her back, covering her face with both hands before resting her forehand on the clay. After greeting Sabalenka at the net, she hugged film director Spike Lee and celebrated with her entourage, three years after she lost in her first final at Roland-Garros.
Sabalenka started the deciding set strongly, sticking to her high-risk approach to hold her first service game.
Gauff responded by raising her level, winning a superb rally in the third game that drew loud cheers and applause from the crowd. After an intense exchange of drop shots, Gauff hit a lob that Sabalenka chased down before attempting a shot between her legs — only for Gauff to intercept it at the net and finish with a winner.
Gauff was consistent from the baseline and earned a break point that she converted when Sabalenka double-faulted, giving her a 2-1 lead. Sabalenka turned toward her box and shouted in frustration but then regained her composure, breaking back to level the match at 3-3.
She was broken again at love, however, and Gauff then held serve twice to claim the title after a match that lasted 2 hours, 38 minutes.
PARIS — As popular as Coco Gauff is, she knew full well that nearly all of the 15,000 fans at Court Philippe-Chatrier would be against her during the French Open semifinals Thursday. That’s because Gauff, an American, was taking on a French opponent — and one who came from nowhere, 361st-ranked Loïs Boisson.
So the No. 2-seeded Gauff turned to a trick that 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic has talked about using: When the partisan crowd was loudly singing Boisson’s first name, Gauff pretended they were chanting “Coco!” Not that it mattered much, truly, because Gauff was by far the superior player throughout a 6-1, 6-2 victory that earned her a second trip to the final at Roland-Garros.
Three years ago, Gauff missed out on a chance to leave with the trophy when Iga Swiatek beat her. This time, Swiatek won’t be around for the championship match on Saturday because her 26-match unbeaten run at the clay-court Grand Slam tournament ended earlier Thursday with a 7-6 (1), 4-6, 6-0 loss to No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka.
Sabalenka vs. Gauff will be the first No. 1 vs. No. 2 final in Paris since 2013, when Serena Williams defeated Maria Sharapova, and just the second in the last 30 years.
Gauff figures to hear at least the occasional “Allez, Coco!” while meeting Sabalenka.
But that wasn’t in the offing against Boisson, who beat No. 3 Jessica Pegula and No. 6 Mirra Andreeva while becoming the first woman since 1989 to get all the way to the semifinals in her first Grand Slam tournament.
Coco Gauff, left, and Lois Boisson shake hands after their French Open semifinal match on Thursday.
(Aurelien Morissard / Associated Press)
It’s been a quarter of a century since a woman representing France won the singles title at Roland-Garros — Mary Pierce in 2000 — so Boisson became front-page news. The flags flapping in the stands, and the raucous applause and yells accompanying each point Boisson won, were hard to miss.
“I was mentally prepared before the match that it was going to be 99% for her. But I just tried to block it out,” Gauff told the spectators during her on-court interview, laughing as she explained her thought process. “And actually, when you guys were chanting her name, I was saying to myself my name. Just to kind of psych myself out. You have to do that.”
Then she added: “I know you guys would usually root for me if I’m not playing a French (foe).”
Gauff never really allowed the atmosphere to become much of a factor, because she took Boisson out of the match from the get-go, grabbing 20 of the first 30 points to lead 4-0.
As much as Boisson’s game is fit for clay, Gauff is rather adept on the slower surface, too. Her speed and reflexes allow her to track down shot after shot, elongating points and making the player across the net come up with the goods over and over.
Boisson finished with just seven winners while Gauff made only 15 unforced errors, fewer than half of Boisson’s total of 33.
When the exchanges grew longer, Gauff got better. She won 34 of 51 points that lasted five strokes or more.
“Congratulations to her on an incredible tournament,” Gauff said, “but today just happened to be my day.”
