Iga Swiatek is still a long way from mastering the art of grasscourt tennis but on Tuesday the Pole took what she hopes will end up being a successful run at Wimbledon as she beat Russia's Polina Kudermetova 7-5 6-1 in the first round.
Facing a Wimbledon debutant, the five-time Grand Slam champion might have hoped for an easy ride as no doubt she would have liked to escape the Court 2 furnace as quickly as possible with the temperature soaring above 33 degrees Celsius.
Despite being a grasscourt novice, Kudermetova refused to be overawed by the occasion, or her opponent, as she went toe-to-toe from the baseline with Swiatek for 45 minutes.
It was not the kind of first-round trial Swiatek would have wanted as she bids to improve her rather mediocre record at the All England Club, which remains the only major where she has not contested at least a semifinal.
In fact, it was not until the penultimate point of the opening set that Swiatek earned her first break point, which the eighth seed duly converted when Kudermetova netted a backhand to surrender the set.
That blow effectively snuffed out the 22-year-old Russian's hopes of winning a match at a Grand Slam for the first time as her baseline tactics fell apart in the second.
While Kudermetova had kept Swiatek second-guessing her game-plan for the duration of the 45-minute opening set, the former world No 1 raced through the second in only 24 minutes, securing the win with a sizzling backhand winner. "I'm glad my game clicked in the second set and am glad some fans came to see us today as it's so hot," Swiatek told the crowd after setting up a second round meeting with American Caty McNally.
Winning at #Wimbledon again 🤩
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 1, 2025
Iga Swiatek returns to SW19 with a 7-5, 6-1 win against Polina Kudermetova to advance to the second round 💪 pic.twitter.com/H0ln9vnSfE
PEGULA, ZHENG SUFFER SHOCK EXITS
American third seed Jessica Pegula suffered a shock straight-sets defeat in her Wimbledon opener against Italy's Elisabetta Cocciaretto.
Pegula was demolished 6-2, 6-3 by the world number 116 in just 58 minutes on Court Two.
It was a bitter blow for 2024 US Open finalist Pegula, who has never been past the quarterfinals at the All England Club.
Elisabetta Cocciaretto, take a bow 👏
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 1, 2025
The Italian beats No.3 seed Jessica Pegula 6-2, 6-3 to storm into the second round of #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/oGWnAVK4BJ
The 31-year-old played with heavy strapping on her right knee and never looked comfortable in a lacklustre performance.
Since losing last year's US Open final against Aryna Sabalenka, world No 3 Pegula has been eliminated before the quarterfinals in all three of her Grand Slam appearances.
It was only Cocciaretto's second win against a top-10 player.
The 24-year-old has never been past the third round at Wimbledon and her best Grand Slam performance was a run to the last 16 at last year's French Open.
Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen became the second big casualty as the Chinese fifth seed was beaten 7-5 4-6 6-1 in the first round by Czech Katerina Siniakova.
Zheng powered her way to gold in Paris last year and was tipped for a strong run at the All England Club but doubles specialist Siniakova had too much grasscourt craft.
Siniakova, three-time women's doubles champion at the All England Club, took the opening set when Zheng netted a backhand.
Zheng, Australian Open runner-up in 2024, raised her game to level the match but could not carry the momentum into the deciding set and slumped to her third successive first-round defeat at Wimbledon.
Siniakova sinks Zheng 👏
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 1, 2025
The Czech beats the No.5 seed 7-5, 4-6, 6-1#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/7kTIwQyDuI
Siniakova's victory meant she avoided three successive Wimbledon first-round losses and she will face Japan's four-times major winner Naomi Osaka in the second round.
Earlier, American Jessica Pegula, the third seed, was dismantled 6-2 6-3 by Italian Elisabetta Cocciaretto.
KVITOVA LOSES ON WIMBLEDON FAREWELL
Petra Kvitova's Wimbledon farewell ended in an emotional defeat as the two-time champion was beaten 6-3, 6-1 by Emma Navarro in the first round on Tuesday.
Kvitova returned from maternity leave in February following the birth of her son Petr in 2024, but found it difficult to handle the demands of being a mother on the gruelling tennis circuit.
The 35-year-old Czech announced last week that she will bring the curtain down on her career after the US Open in August.
Kvitova's decision gave the former world No 2, who has won 31 titles in her career, one last opportunity to return to the scene of her Wimbledon triumphs.
But American 10th seed Navarro ruined her hopes of a long Wimbledon goodbye with a clinical 60-minute victory on Court One.
Kvitova could not hold back the tears when she was given a standing ovation by the crowd, responding with a wave before drying her eyes.
"It's very special to play on this beautiful court one more time. I wish I could play a little bit longer but it's OK, whatever" she said as more tears flowed.
"This place holds the best memories I could wish for. I never dreamt of winning Wimbledon.
"I will miss Wimbledon for sure, I will miss tennis but I'm ready for the next chapter as well.
"I can't wait to be back here as a member. Thank you very much Wimbledon."
"This place holds the best memories I could wish for." ✨
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 1, 2025
Petra Kvitova says farewell to the #Wimbledon crowd pic.twitter.com/am0r3H16Iu
A raw 21-year-old when she stunned Maria Sharapova to win the 2011 Wimbledon final, three years later Kvitova returned to the All England Club title match to rout Eugenie Bouchard 6-3, 6-0.
Now ranked 572, Kvitova has lost eight of her nine matches since becoming a parent.
But she says Wimbledon means "everything to me", an emotional connection forged not just in her tennis triumphs but also because her engagement to her coach Jiri Vanek took place on Centre Court in 2022.
She rolled back the years at the start of the first set, racing into a 3-1 lead with a series of blistering winners.
But the left-hander is no longer the force of old and she lost five games in a row with a host of unforced errors as Navarro took the set.
By the time Kvitova lost the first two games of the second set, her fate was almost sealed.
She managed one last echo of yesteryear, holding serve in the third game and celebrating with a clenched fist.
That show of defiance was Kvitova's final fling as a double-fault finished her All England Club career.
She bowed out with a kiss to her family in the players' box before leaving the Wimbledon stage for the last time.
KREJCIKOVA BATTLES BACK AGAINST EALA TO WIN
Defending Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova powered back from a set down to beat Philippines star Alexandra Eala in the first round.
The Czech was outplayed in the first set but lost just three more games as she completed a 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 win on Centre Court.
Eala, a finalist on the grass at Eastbourne last week, broke Krejcikova twice in the first set to take an early grip on the match, producing a succession of fizzing deep groundstrokes.
The rusty Krejcikova made 19 unforced errors in an untidy display, struggling to find rhythm with her ball toss on the baking court.
But the 2024 champion quickly gained a foothold in the second set and raced into a 5-0 lead, eventually taking the set as she cut her error count drastically.
The world number 16 stayed in the groove in the decider, wrapping up the match with a powerful backhand down the line.
Barbora bounces back 🇨🇿
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 1, 2025
The defending champion comes from a set down to defeat Alexandra Eala 3-6, 6-2, 6-1#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/36rC8Pqnzv
Two-time Grand Slam champion Krejcikova has endured a difficult time since defeating Italy's Jasmine Paolini in the Wimbledon final last year, playing just six matches in 2025 before her Wimbledon opener on Tuesday.
The 29-year-old was out of action until May after suffering a back injury and lost in the second round of the recent French Open.
Krejcikova pulled out of last week's Eastbourne Open before the quarterfinals with a thigh problem.
At the same tournament Eala, ranked 56th in the world, became the first Filipina to reach a WTA final.
ANDREEVA YOUNGEST WOMAN LEFT AFTER NERVY START
Big things are expected of the Russian teenager who reached the fourth round on her debut at the All England Club as a 16-year-old, but was quickly put to work in her opening match this time on a hot and humid Court 3 by the energetic Sherif.
A nervous Andreeva found herself 2-0 down at the start, but broke back when Sherif hit a backhand wide.
The pair traded breaks again, fighting a baseline battle, but Andreeva took a crucial 4-3 lead with a powerful backhand winner down the line.
She broke again and claimed the set with another backhand, this time passing the 86th-ranked Egyptian as Andreeva grew in confidence and began to demonstrate the kind of agility and dexterity that has made many tip her for Grand Slam success.
A wasted break point at the beginning of the second led the Russian to repeatedly hit her thigh with her racket in frustration.
She made sure not to waste another, breaking to go 3-1 up and from there had no trouble in closing out the match.
Mirra's moving on...
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 1, 2025
The No.7 seed reaches the second round with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Mayar Sherif 👏#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/pqycBqWO7M
"To be honest at the beginning, I was super, super nervous. I tried to calm myself down a little bit and hit as many balls as I could on the court and I felt like if I kept running I could feel less nervous,"
Andreeva, who became the youngest player to win a WTA 1000 title in Dubai earlier this year, said on court.
"I was happy to find my way and I'm happy to win this match."
Andreeva, coached by former Wimbledon champion Conchita Martinez, will next face 63rd-ranked Lucia Bronzetti for a place in the third round.
Something the Italian will be wary of is Andreeva's prowess at the net - the Russian converted 12 out of 14 points when she moved up the court against Sherif. Andreeva, who also won Indian Wells in March, surprised herself with how well she did.
"Honestly, I was a little bit surprised with my level, my volleys also today. I felt like every time I was going to the net, every time I was sure that I would hit a great volley, so I don't know why I felt like this today, but I felt like it brought me a lot of free points," she told a press conference.
"We've been practising a lot to improve my volleys and my overall net game. That's why I always play a lot of doubles. Finally, I think that maybe the work is paying off a little bit."
SECOND SEED COCO GAUFF KNOCKED OUT
American second seed Coco Gauff suffered a stunning defeat as the French Open champion was beaten 7-6 (7/3), 6-1 by Ukranian world number 42 Dayana Yastremska.
Gauff was expected to make a strong run at the All England Club after her triumph at Roland Garros in June.
But instead of building on her success on the Paris clay, the 21-year-old endured her earliest Grand Slam exit since another first-round loss at Wimbledon in 2023.
Yastremska powered to victory in 78 minutes on Court One, with Gauff joining third Pegula and Qinwen as high-profile departures from the tournament on Tuesday.
Gauff, a two-time Grand Slam champion, has failed to get past the fourth round in each of her six visits to Wimbledon.
She paid the price for an unusually error-strewn display featuring nine double-faults, 29 unforced errors and just six winners.
"It's the win of her career."
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 1, 2025
No.1 Court is stunned as Dayana Yastremska defeats No.2 seed Coco Gauff 7-6(3), 6-1 😲#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/pZYylWHcs8
Yastremska has previously claimed she has an allergy to grass, but the 25-year-old's shock success against Gauff extended an impressive recent run on the surface.
Known as one of the more glamourous players on the women's tour for her high-profile Instagram modelling, Yastremska made the Nottingham final and the Eastbourne quarterfinals in June.
"It was a great match today. I was really on fire, even my nails have fire on them," Yastremska said.
"Playing Coco is special. These courts are made for the greatest players so I'm very grateful to play here.
"It's really unexpected. I love playing on grass. I feel this year we are kind of friends. I hope the road can continue for me."
MORE RESULTS
Lucia Bronzetti (ITA) bt Jil Teichmann (SUI) 6-4, 7-5
Hailey Baptiste (USA) bt Sorana Cirstea (ROM) 6-7 (0/7), 6-1, 6-2
Victoria Mboko (CAN) bt Magdalena Frech (POL x25) 6-3, 6-2
Caroline Dolehide (USA) bt Arantxa Rus (NED) 6-2, 6-2
Veronika Kudermetova (RUS) bt Zhu Lin (CHN) 6-3, 6-2
Emma Navarro (USA x10) bt Petra Kvitova (CZE) 6-3, 6-1
Wang Xinyu (CHN) bt Karolina Muchová (CZE x15) 7-5, 6-2
Zeynep Sönmez (TUR) bt Jaqueline Cristian (ROM) 7-6 (7/3), 6-3
Suzan Lamens (NED) bt Iva Jovic (USA) 6-1, 6-1
Ekaterina Alexandrova (RUS x18) bt Priscilla Hon (AUS) 6-2, 7-5
Belinda Bencic (SUI) bt Alycia Parks (USA) 6-0, 6-3
Katie Volynets (USA) bt Tatjana Maria (GER) 3-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-1
Caty McNally (USA) bt Jodie Burrage (GBR) 6-3, 6-1
Danielle Collins (USA) bt María Camila Osorio (COL) 6-3, 6-2
Veronika Erjavec (SLO) bt Marta Kostyuk (UKR x26) 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
Clara Tauson (DEN x23) bt Heather Watson (GBR) 2-6, 6-4, 6-3
Anna Kalinskaya (RUS) bt Nina Stojanovic (SRB) 6-3, 7-6 (7/4)
Maria Sakkari (GRE) bt Anna Blinkova (RUS) 6-4, 6-4
Daria Kasatkina (AUS x16) bt Emiliana Arango (COL) 7-5, 6-3
Irina-Camelia Begu (ROM) bt Kaja Juvan (SLO) 7-6 (8/6), 1-6, 6-3
Yuliia Starodubtseva (UKR) bt Francesca Jones (GBR) 1-6, 6-3, 6-1
Liudmila Samsonova (RUS x19) bt Maya Joint (AUS) 6-3, 6-2
Sofia Kenin (USA x28) bt Taylor Townsend (USA) 7-6 (7/5), 6-2
Jessica Bouzas (ESP) bt Ella Seidel (GER) 6-3, 3-2 ret