Coco Gauff's projected path to Wimbledon 2025 final

Coco Gauff faces a tough road at Wimbledon 2025.

Coco Gauff will need to tap into every last ounce of her talent and bag of tricks if she wants to reach the Wimbledon 2025 final. The American has five Grand Slam champions in her half of the draw. The American is seeded second at SW19 this year following her maiden French Open title.

She is once again seeded to clash with Aryna Sabalenka, who is the top seed and leads the draw’s top half. The top-ranked American upset Sabalenka in the finals at Roland Garros to claim ownership of the Suzanne Lenglen Cup for the first time.

Gauff will look to carry the confidence from winning the clay-court major into Wimbledon as she heads to the All-England Club with just one grass-court match under her belt. Second seed Gauff will make her sixth appearance at SW19, at a venue where the dice are against her. She is yet to make it past the fourth round and into the second week.

The American bridged the gap with Sabalenka after a frosty reaction from the top seed after the French Open final with a dance. Now she will hope to waltz her way into the finals and hopefully deliver as the first American woman to win Wimbledon since Serena Williams in 2016.

With none of the WTA Top 10 having won at Wimbledon, the women’s singles draw is wide open, and a new champion could be crowned. If Gauff succeeds at Wimbledon, she will be the second woman to complete the Channel Slam this century after countrywoman Serena Williams (2002, 2015). Let’s take a look at her potential route to glory.

Round 1 – Dayana Yastremska

Gauff will take on Dayana Yastremska to begin her Wimbledon journey as she hopes to add the Venus Rosewater dish to her collection. Yastremska was a finalist at the recently concluded Nottingham Open. The American World No. 2 leads the Ukrainian 3-0 in their head-to-head.

Yastremska took a set off Gauff at Madrid this season, where she bageled the American in the opening set of their first-round match. It was the only set dropped by Gauff at the Madrid Open WTA 1000 event. The 21-year-old Gauff would do well to approach the opening round match against Yastremska with caution.

Round 2 – Victoria Azarenka / Anastasia Zakharova

Coco Gauff could be staring down former World No. 1 and two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka in the second round. Gauff and Azarenka faced off in Guadalajara in 2022 for their first and only meeting to date. The American ended up on the losing side in the quarter-final round of the WTA 500 event. Azarenka has a better record on the Wimbledon turf, having reached the semi-finals in 2011 and 2012. 

Russian qualifier Anastasia Zakharova will be an unknown quantity for Gauff as the two have never met before. The 23-year-old Russian is ranked 94th and is playing her first match at Wimbledon this year. Zakharova made an impressive debut at Queen’s Club in London earlier in June, taking out last year’s semi-finalist Donna Vekic in straight sets.   

Round 3 – Sofia Kenin / Jessica Bouzas Maneiro

Gauff leads Sofia Kenin by a slim 3-2 margin in their head-to-head. While Gauff’s wins over Kenin have all come on hard courts, Kenin maintains a crucial edge over Gauff ahead of any possible face-off at Wimbledon this year.

Kenin is seeded 28th in London but has something Gauff does not – a win over her rival at the grass-court Slam. Back in 2023, Kenin handed Gauff her earliest exit from the tournament when she defeated her countrywoman in the opening round in three sets. 

In the event of a Coco Gauff vs Jessica Bouzas Maneiro match-up, it will be the first time the duo cross paths at a WTA event. Her best performance at Wimbledon came last year when she overcame defending champion Marketa Vondrousova to reach the third round, where she lost to eventual champion Barbora Krejcikova. The 22-year-old Spaniard also made the last eight at WTA 250 events in France and Morocco this season.  

Round 4 – Liudmila Samsonova / Daria Kasatkina

Gauff will be happy to take on Liudmila Samsonova rather than Daria Kasatkina in the fourth round as the American has a 3-0 advantage over the former in their head-to-head. The situation is reversed against Kasatkina, with the Australian enjoying a 3-0 lead over Gauff.

Two of the three wins against Samsonova went the distance, with the Russian taking the opening set. Having played each other on hard courts and clay, Samsonova and Gauff are seeded to square off for the first time on grass.

Kasatkina and Gauff last met at the 2022 WTA Finals, when the event was held in the United States. The Australian emerged victorious in straight sets, which was her second straight win over Gauff in the American’s backyard since their second-round clash at the Miami Open in 2019. Kasatkina is also a quarterfinalist at Wimbledon, a milestone Gauff has yet to reach.

Quarter-final – Elena Rybakina / Iga Swiatek

It will not get any easier for Gauff as the second week of the Wimbledon fortnight approaches. The American could find herself across the net from either 2022 champion Elena Rybakina or five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek.

Gauff just about managed to squeeze past Rybakina in their sole meeting in Toronto in 2022. The three-set face-off involved two tie-breaks, including in the deciding set, before Gauff took the win. 

Gauff may have won her last three matches against Swiatek, including her convincing win in Madrid this year, but the Pole still leads 11-4 in their head-to-head. What could make the task even harder is that visits to Wimbledon have never been fruitful for the American. Here, too, Swiatek has an advantage, having reached the quarter-finals in 2023, despite being more comfortable on clay.

Semi-final – Jessica Pegula / Barbora Krejcikova 

Gauff and Jessica Pegula have split their matches on grass. Gauff won at Eastbourne in 2023, while Pegula returned the favour in Berlin in 2024. Pegula leads 4-2 in their head-to-head record.

While Pegula’s serve and flat hitting are tailor-made for grass, she dials back in the later stages of major events, and her grass court resume is devoid of deep runs at Slams. The 31-year-old Pegula has five quarter-finals, but only a sole title-round appearance at a major, which came at the 2024 US Open.  

Defending champion Barbora Krejcikova could be a last-minute withdrawal at Wimbledon after her injury-related withdrawal from the Eastbourne Open on Friday. Should Krejcikova manage to play, Gauff will have to contend with a 0-2 losing record against the Czech player.

Final – Aryna Sabalenka / Jasmine Paolini /  Qinwen Zheng

Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka are two evenly matched players, as seen from a glimpse into their head-to-head record. Gauff has once again nudged ahead of Sabalenka after winning the Roland Garros final in June against the Belarusian.

The duo is once again on a collision course for their second final in as many months. Gauff will hold the advantage since she has defeated Sabalenka in both the finals they have played each other. The 2023 US Open final also ended with the American lifting the trophy.

Looking past their 2-2 head-to-head record, Jasmine Paolini has a better record at SW19, having made the finals in 2024. Paolini defeated Gauff in Rome to become the first Italian woman to win the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in May. Paolini, the World No. 4, followed it up by reaching the last four at Bad Homburg. It will be an interesting contest between Gauff and Paolini should they face off in the finals. 

Gauff will benefit from a 3-0 lead over Qinwen Zheng in their head-to-head. The American came through a tough three-setter against a stubborn Zheng in the Rome semi-finals.

While Zheng is yet to make a significant impact at SW19, she made the semi-finals at the recently concluded Queen’s Club Championships. Despite her modest record in Wimbledon, Zheng will be eager for a role reversal should they set up a summit clash at SW19.

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