Wimbledon 2026: Can Coco Gauff win quarter-final on maiden attempt?
What's the story
American tennis star Coco Gauff reached her maiden Wimbledon quarter-final with a thrilling victory over Switzerland's Belinda Bencic. The match, which concluded just two minutes before the standard curfew, saw Gauff drop the first set. However, she made a strong comeback to win 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. Gauff, the two-time Grand Slam winner, will now face fourth seed Jessica Pegula in the quarter-final.
Numbers
First Wimbledon quarter-final appearance
As mentioned, Gauff is set for her maiden last-eight appearance at Wimbledon. She has raced to a 15-6 singles win-loss record at the grass-court Slam. Notably, Gauff has reached the semi-finals of all other Majors, even winning Roland Garros and the US Open. The American now has a win-loss record of 84-25 at Grand Slams.
Information
Gauff emulates Serena Williams
As per Opta, Gauff now has the joint second-most Grand Slam singles wins before turning 23. She equaled Serena Williams, who also won 84 such matches. The duo is only behind Maria Sharapova (92).
Battle
Gauff set to face Jessica Pegula
As mentioned, Gauff will now face fellow American Jessica Pegula for a place in the semi-finals. Pegula reached her second Wimbledon quarter-final with a win over Iva Jovic. Notably, Pegula has a 5-3 lead over Gauff in the WTA head-to-head series. The battle has been neck-and-neck of late, with Pegula beating Gauff in the 2025 ATP Finals.