Most tennis gamers may solely dream about doing one thing 22-time Grand Slam singles champion Steffi Graf completed throughout her legendary profession.
World No. 6 and defending Wimbledon singles champion Marketa Vondrousova joined Graf in an unique but undesirable membership on Tuesday, as she fell in a straight-set stunner in opposition to 21-year-old Jessica Bouzas Maneiro.
Graf’s first-round defeat in 1994 in opposition to Lori McNeil is the one different time within the sport’s Open period, which dates to 1968, {that a} girl went from a championship at Wimbledon to a right away exit a yr later.
Vondrousova stunned the tennis world final summer time when she grew to become the primary unseeded girl to win the crown on the All England Membership. She was additionally the lowest-ranked girl to win at Wimbledon, coming into the event final yr forty second.
Vondrousova’s stunning loss on Tuesday will considerably influence her rating.
The lefty was a finalist on the 2019 French Open, a silver medalist on the Tokyo Olympics and a quarterfinalist on the 2023 U.S. Open.
In line with an Related Press and ESPN report, nevertheless, Vondrousova “appeared to nonetheless be struggling after-effects from a fall throughout a
tune-up event on grass in Berlin final month that harm her hip.”
Bouzas Maneiro, in the meantime, has been positioned as excessive as No. 83 within the WTA rankings and has by no means been previous the second spherical of a significant event.
“Now I am actually blissful. I believe this is likely one of the most necessary moments of my life, in my profession right here and this court docket is superb,” she stated following the upset. “The ambiance right here, the event is [one of the] most lovely tournaments I’ve ever performed in my life, so thanks a lot to everybody right here who got here to observe the match in the present day. Thanks a lot.”