Top five biggest upsets at Wimbledon 2025

23 top seeds crashed out in the first round of Wimbledon 2025.

It was a shocking passage of play in the initial days of Wimbledon 2025, as some of the biggest names in tennis failed to get going at the Championship.

The primary reason for this was the lack of preparedness, compounded by the extreme heat in London during the first five days, which proved too challenging for the top tennis players.

Lack of energy and poor body language, probably underestimating the lower-ranked players, led to their downfall, as a total of 23 seeds were eliminated from the first round across ATP and WTA, and several top contenders bowed out of the prestigious event in the second round.

Wimbledon is known for its unpredictable nature, and the 2025 edition was one of the most unexpected ones. Here we take a look at the top five results that shook the tennis fraternity.

World No. 2 Coco Gauff lost to #42 Dayana Yastremska

Coco Gauff, just weeks after her French Open victory, suffered a stunning first-round defeat at Wimbledon 2025, falling 7-6(3), 6-1 to Dayana Yastremska. Hampered by 29 unforced errors and nine double faults, Gauff was far from her best.

Remarkably, she becomes only the third woman in the Open era to lose in Wimbledon’s first round after winning Roland-Garros. The Ukrainian lost the third round to Jessica Bouzas Maneiro.

World No. 4 Jack Draper lost to Marin Čilić

Jack Draper, Britain’s top hope and fourth seed, was widely expected to make a deep run at Wimbledon 2025, but the pressure proved too much. He fell in four sets to 36-year-old former finalist Marin Čilić, whose experience and powerful game outclassed Draper.

The early exit disappointed home fans and extended Draper’s struggles at SW19. The Croatian’s impressive run came to an end in the fourth round, at the hands of 23-year-old Flavio Cobolli.

World No. 3 Alexander Zverev lost to #72 Arthur Rinderknech

Arthur Rinderknech produced the match of his life to defeat Alexander Zverev in a dramatic five-set thriller that spanned two days at Wimbledon 2025. Both players split the first two sets in tiebreaks before play was halted by curfew.

On resumption, Rinderknech maintained composure, serving brilliantly in the fifth to seal the upset. Zverev, last year’s round of 16 finisher, is still expected to retain his No. 3 ranking despite this early exit. After battling two back-to-back five setter contests, the Frenchman went down to Kamil Majchrzak in straight sets.

World No. 4 Jasmine Paolini lost to Kamilla Rakhimova

Last year’s Wimbledon finalist and current World No. 8 Jasmine Paolini suffered a shock second-round loss to unseeded Kamilla Rakhimova. After a strong start, Paolini couldn’t maintain her momentum as Rakhimova’s aggressive play and 76% first-serve success proved decisive.

The defeat saw the Italian drop to #9 on the WTA rankings. 30th seed Linda Nosková ended the Russian’s campaign in a dominant straight sets win.

World No. 7 Lorenzo Musetti lost to #126 Nikoloz Basilashvili

Last year’s Wimbledon semi-finalist, Lorenzo Musetti, was tipped for another strong run but suffered a shock first-round defeat to qualifier, Nikoloz Basilashvili. Musetti, lacking grass-court preparation due to injury, never found his rhythm and struggled physically.

Basilashvili’s mix of power and finesse dictated play, earning him a 6-2, 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 win and his first Grand Slam victory since 2022. Despite the exit, the Italian stays at #7 in the ATP rankings. The Georgian failed to capitalise on his big win, as he lost the very next round to Lorenzo Sonego.

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