By Pritha Ghosh
Jessica Pegula suffered a stunning first-round exit at the 2025 Wimbledon Championships, losing to Italy鈥檚 Elisabetta Cocciaretto. The result left fans disappointed, with many criticizing her performance and questioning how she crashed out so early despite being one of the top contenders coming in.Pegula, the No. 3 seed, became the biggest upset of the tournament so far after crashing out on just the second day. She arrived in London riding high on confidence after winning the Bad Homburg Open, where she defeated Iga Swiatek in the final. Despite her strong form, nothing seemed to click for her at SW19 this time.The American took on World No. 116 Cocciaretto on Tuesday, July 2, but appeared to be hampered by a knee issue, with visible strapping on her leg. She struggled to find her rhythm and fell 6-2, 6-3 in just 58 minutes. It marked her earliest exit from a Grand Slam since she lost in the first round of the 2020 French Open.Fans were frustrated with Jessica Pegula鈥檚 performance, especially given her recent form. Many hadn鈥檛 expected such an early exit. One fan took to X (formerly Twitter) and wrote:鈥淧eople call Paolini the worst #4 ever and just breeze bye Jessica Pegula at #3. Another fraudulent performance by an American woman at a major. Other than Coco and a surprise run by Keys in Australia the rest of the American women are shaky at best.鈥濃淲hat the f**kk. Disgusting loss from Jess,鈥 another wrote.One account posted:鈥淧eggy needs to stop playing a week before a slam cause how you out to Cocciaretto??鈥”So it seems that pre-Wimbledon warm-up winner curse is real!鈥 one fan wrote.鈥淭his was a really weird match from Jess, probably one of her worst ever tbh,鈥 another joined in.One user tweeted:鈥淪orry, I’m not interested in what anyone else says, Pegula is simply not a world class player, and a world ranking of 3 is ridiculous. Belongs 10-20 at best. Results keep proving me right.鈥滶lisabetta Cocciaretto makes her feelings known after crushing Jessica Pegula’s Wimbledon dreamsElisabetta Cocciaretto pictured with Jessica Pegula at the 2025 Wimbledon Championships | Image Source: GettyElisabetta Cocciaretto was over the moon after her stunning first-round win over Jessica Pegula at the 2025 Wimbledon Championships. The victory marked a major career milestone for her, as it was her first-ever win against a Top 5 player.Cocciaretto shared her emotions in the on-court interview, saying she was incredibly “pumped” to compete at SW19 this year. She mentioned that she had faced top players like Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka before, and while those matches were tough, they gave her valuable experience. “I was so pumped to play Wimbledon this year,” she said. “I couldn鈥檛 wait til the match started. I was practicing really hard to do the best I can today and play as many matches as possible. I played a really great champion. It was an unbelievable match.”She added:”I played with players like her before. Like Aryna, Iga.. all of those players, you have to do the best you can on the court and take the little chances they give you. I tried to be more aggressive. Go for it. Don鈥檛 think about losing or winning the point. Just do your best. I think I did a great job today.鈥漈he Italian will now turn her focus to the second round, where she鈥檚 set to take on either Katie Volynets or Tatjana Maria, depending on the outcome of their opening match.