Officially, Wimbledon’s color scheme is a pristine purple and green overlay. But this year, the organizers tried to mix it up with a distinct shade of dark red, a claret, representing the bloodbath that was Week 1. Less a tennis event than an abattoir—or, more charitably, a demonstration of tennis’s parity—seed after seed left the court and headed to the transport desk, where they booked flights earlier than anticipated.
Coco Gauff, the winsome Roland Garros champion, fell in Round 1. Jessica Pegula, the player behind her in the seedings? She was ousted on the same day. Last year’s finalist, Jasmine Paolini? She was bounced on Wednesday. No. 5 Qinwen Zheng is out too. Sixth seed and Australian Open winner Madison Keys fell on Friday to a 37-year-old with little Wimbledon track record. (Let’s acknowledge the vanquishers: Dayana Yastremska, Elisabetta Cocciaretto, Kamilla Rakhimova, Kateřina Siniaková and Laura Siegemund, respectively and respectfully.)
