Coco Gauff suffered a shock first round Wimbledon loss at the hands of Ukrainian player Dayana Yastremska.
Gauff is the reigning Roland Garros champion, beating Aryna Sabalenka last month to win her second major title.
However, there were concerns for Gauff after she lost her only grass court match coming into Wimbledon this year.
This came to fruition in her first round match, where Yastremska beat Gauff in straight sets.
Jim Courier reacts to Coco Gauff’s first round defeat at Wimbledon
There has been a big reaction to Gauff’s defeat at Wimbledon, as she is the highest seed no longer in either the men’s or women’s singles draw.
Now four-time Grand Slam champion Jim Courier has given his verdict on Gauff’s defeat when speaking on Tennis Channel.
Courier called Gauff the best defender in the world, but claimed that quality does not warrant the same rewards as it does on hard and clay courts.
“I think what happens is that offence beat defence and it almost always does if you play at the same level,” said Courier. “Good offence is always going to beat good defence on grass because you simply cannot use your defensive skills in the same way that you can on hard or on a clay court.
“Who defends better in women’s tennis than Coco Gauff? Nobody. So I think for Coco because she is more defensive minded this surface is fraught with peril for her.
“And when she runs into a player like Yastremska, who has offensive artillery available and she stood up to the moment. Coco simply did not have answers for it.”
Courier was followed up by former world number one Lindsay Davenport, who echoed his thoughts and also suggested that the short turnaround from winning Roland Garros has played a part in Gauff’s defeat.
“She has had good results here in the past,” said Courier. “She has gotten to the second weeks a couple of different times. She did not have as much time this year, winning Roland Garros, then doing some press stuff in New York and coming back.
“But it is going to be the most challenging surface for her on that week. You have to be able to meet it out in front. You have got to be able to drive through the court. She prefers to lean back and get it up and over. That shot does not pay off on the grass but if she had more time, that’s a double edged sword.
“She wants to do well on Roland Garros, her best surface. I think if you’re Gauff you chalk it up to this was a tough grass court season, 0-2, but she has her second Grand Slam title.”
Wimbledon remains as Gauff’s weakest Grand Slam tournament, having still yet to surpass the fourth round.
Coco Gauff becomes part of unwanted history after Wimbledon defeat
This is only the fourth time that Gauff has lost in the first round of a major, with two of those defeats coming at Wimbledon.
However, what is more noteworthy for Gauff is that she has become part of an unwanted list of Roland Garros champions that have gone on to lose in the first round of Wimbledon.
Since the turn of the Open Era, only three Roland Garros women’s singles champions have not been able to win their first round match at Wimbledon.
Gauff is the most recent of those, joining Justine Henin in 2005 and Francesca Schiavone in 2010.
After her Wimbledon loss, Gauff revealed she knew what her team would say, as the draw now opens up for some of her rivals.
Gauff will now look to regroup ahead of the North American hard court swing, which she is expected to begin in Montreal.
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