World No.5 Jessica Pegula became the highest-seeded women’s player to be eliminated at Wimbledon, falling to Wang Xinyu in the second round on Thursday, while top seed Iga Swiatek confidently progressed past Petra Martic.
The 42nd-ranked Wang defeated Pegula 6-4 6-7 (7) 6-1, securing her first Top 10 victory and advancing to the third round of Wimbledon for the first time. Despite saving eight break points, Pegula was broken six times, with Wang hitting 38 winners to the American’s 23.
The fifth seed’s second-round exit means she will lose ranking points, as she reached her first Wimbledon quarterfinals last year. This year, Pegula arrived at The Championships riding the momentum of her first grass-court title, which she secured at the ecotrans Ladies Open in Berlin after saving five match points against Anna Kalinskaya in the final. It was also her first WTA title of the season.
The world No.1 Swiatek continues her impressive run, extending her winning streak to 21 matches with a commanding 6-4 6-3 victory over Martic in the second round. The dominant Pole never faced a break point, and a single break in each set was enough to defeat the Croat. The five-time Grand Slam champion’s best performance at Wimbledon was reaching the quarterfinals last year.
In the third round, Wang will face Harriet Dart, who defeated fellow Briton Katie Boulter in a three-set thriller, while Swiatek will play Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan.
