Delray Beach’s own Coco Gauff punched her ticket to the Wimbledon quarterfinals for the first time in her career.
No.7 Coco Gauff delivered a gritty performance Sunday. She rallied back after dropping the opening set four to six against 11th-ranked Belinda Bencic of Switzerland.
Gauff recovered, taking the next two sets, six to three and six to four. With the win, the 22-year-old reached her very first Wimbledon quarterfinal.
In a thrilling race against the clock, Gauff narrowly beat Wimbledon's strict overnight curfew, wrapping up a tense victory in the nick of time.
Unlike other majors that play into the night, Wimbledon has a strict 11 p.m. curfew — the venue sits in a quiet London neighborhood. Local rules ban late play to protect residents and ensure fans can catch the last trains home.
Next up, she will face No. 4 Jessica Pegula, who is also an occasional doubles partner.
Gauff and Jessica Pegula are scheduled to play their quarterfinal match Tuesday at 6 a.m. EST.
It marks the first All-American women’s match at Wimbledon between two top-10 seeds since Serena and Venus Williams faced off in the 2009 final.
Gauff already has two major singles titles under her belt, the 2023 US Open and the 2025 French Open.
