WORLD number seven Coco Gauff has been knocked out of Wimbledon at the first hurdle.
The 19-year-old tennis star lost in three sets to fellow American Sofia Kenin in the first round in London.
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Appearing on Court No. 1, Gauff fell behind 6-4 in the first set before battling her way back to even things out 6-4 in the second set.
However, Kenin proved too much on the day, winning the third set 6-2 to take the match.
All in all, this battle lasted two hours and three minutes.
This marks Gauff's earliest exit from Wimbledon to date, having reached the third round last year and the fourth round twice before.
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A three-time Grand Slam quarter-finalist and former French Open finalist, Gauff recently reached the semifinal at the Rothesay International in Eastbourne, where she was knocked out by fellow American Madison Keys.
Following her win, 24-year-old Kenin explained: "I just stuck to my plan, and I'm just glad to finish before it got dark, because I didn't want to come back tomorrow! I had to come through [qualifying] to get here.
"I tried to play it like any other match, I knew Coco had a great year - I'm just super proud of myself?"
Ranked 128th, Kenin won the 2020 Australian Open, reaching the French Open final that same year.
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However, since then an injury-enforced absence combined with comparatively disappointing results have seen her drop down the world rankings from her previous high of fourth in 2020.
This year has been another rollercoaster for Kenin, reaching the semifinal at the Hobart Open before a string of lackluster results, including her loss to Margaux Roubroy in the French Open qualifiers.
However, she looked to be in top form once again against Gauff and will be hoping to carry this over into her second-round match against World No. 73 Xinyu Wang of China.
Elsewhere, on center court, 43-year-old Venus Williams battled through an apparent knee injury and a nasty fall during her tournament opener.
The 10-time Grand Slam winner ultimately lost 6-4, 6-3 to Ukraine's Elina Svitolina.
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