Wimbledon: Gauff, Pegula and Zverev are among a record-tying 23 seeds gone in the 1st round

LONDON (AP) — There was three-time Grand Slam finalist and No. 3 seed Alexander Zverev, outplayed over five sets in a first-round loss at Wimbledon to 72nd-ranked Arthur Rinderknech, who entered Tuesday with a 1-4 career record at the All England Club and zero trips past the third round in 18 appearances at majors.

There was No. 7 Lorenzo Musetti, a semifinalist at Wimbledon last year and at the French Open last month, sent home Tuesday by Nikoloz Basilashvili, a qualifier ranked 126th who only once has made it as far as the fourth round in his 31 previous Grand Slam tournaments.

And, most striking of all, as night arrived, there was No. 2 Coco Gauff going from the champion at Roland-Garros to a quick exit at Wimbledon, beaten 7-6 (3), 6-1 by Dayana Yastremska.

And on and on went the upsets on Day 2 at the grass-court major, meaning 23 seeds — 13 men, 10 women — failed to get to the second round, equaling the highest total at any Grand Slam tournament since they began assigning 32 seeds in each singles bracket in 2001.

No. 3 Jessica Pegula also was among those leaving. The American was the runner-up at last year's U.S. Open and was coming off a grass-court title in Germany over the weekend, defeating Iga Swiatek in the final, yet didn't pose much of a challenge to 116th-ranked Elisabetta Cocciaretto in a 6-2, 6-3 loss that lasted less than an hour.

Two other major finalists, No. 5 Zheng Qinwen and No. 15 Karolina Muchova, were eliminated Tuesday, as were No. 26 Marta Kostyuk and No. 25 Magdalena Frech, whose opponent, 18-year-old Canadian Victoria Mboko, lost in qualifying last week and only got into the field when another player, Anastasia Potapova, withdrew with an injured hip.

Nothing was quite as out-of-nowhere, though, as Rinderknech's success. At least Yastremska has been a major semifinalist, at last year's Australian Open.

“What a moment. Such emotions,” Rinderknech, a 29-year-old from France, said after completing his 7-6 (3), 6-7 (8), 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-4 victory across 4 hours, 40 minutes against Zverev in a match suspended Monday night at a set apiece. “I don’t even know where to start.”

He ended things with a backhand winner, then dropped to his stomach, face down, on Centre Court.

Zverev joined Musetti — who hadn't played since a leg injury forced him to stop at Roland-Garros and was a 6-2, 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 loser against Basilashvili — as top-10 losers on Tuesday, a day after No. 8 Holger Rune and No. 9 Daniil Medvedev departed.

Other seeded men exiting on Day 2 included No. 18 Ugo Humbert, No. 27 Denis Shapovalov, No. 28 Alexander Bublik and No. 30 Alex Michelsen.

Rinderknech pulled off his win thanks to some terrific serving, delivering 25 aces and saving all nine break points he faced. He converted three break chances against Zverev and won the point on 44 of his 55 trips to the net.

“It’s my first top-five win, in the biggest stadium in the world,” Rinderknech said. “My legs are still shaking. I’m just so happy the match is finished.”

Two-time champion Petra Kvitova played her final match at the All England Club, bowing out 6-3, 6-1 against No. 10 Emma Navarro. “This place holds the best memories I could wish for,” said the 35-year-old Kvitova, who will retire after the U.S. Open. “I never dreamed of winning a Wimbledon and I won it twice." Defending women's champion Barbora Krejcikova and men's No. 4 seed Taylor Fritz both needed comebacks to win, No. 1 Jannik Sinner was never troubled in a straight-set victory, and 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic dealt with a stomach issue during his 6-1, 6-7 (7), 6-2, 6-2 win against Alexandre Muller at night.

No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka starts the Centre Court program against Marie Bouzkova at 1:30 p.m. local time (8:30 a.m. ET), followed by two-time defending men's champion Carlos Alcaraz against 733rd-ranked University of San Diego player Oliver Tarvet of Britain, and then 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova vs. 2021 U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu.

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine shakes hands with Coco Gauff of the U.S., left, after winning the first round women's single match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Tuesday, July 1, 2025.(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine celebrates winning a point against Veronika Erjavec of Slovenia during their first round women's singles match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Tuesday, July 1, 2025.(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Elisabetta Cocciaretto of Italy gets up after falling during her women's first round singles match against Jessica Pegula of the U.S. at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Tuesday, July 1, 2025.(AP Photo/Joanna Chan)

Nikoloz Basilashvili of Georgia falls during his first round men's singles match against Lorenzo Musetti of Italy at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Tuesday, July 1, 2025.(AP Photo/Joanna Chan)

Alexander Zverev of Germany reacts as he plays Arthur Rinderknech of France during their first round men's singles match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Tuesday, July 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Arthur Rinderknech of France celebrates after beating Alexander Zverev of Germany in their first round men's singles match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Tuesday, July 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Leo XIV during his first Christmas Day message on Thursday urged the faithful to shed indifference in the face of those who have lost everything, like in Gaza, those who are in impoverished, like in Yemen, and the many migrants who cross the Mediterranean Sea and the American continent for a better future.

The first U.S. pontiff addressed some 26,000 people from the loggia overlooking St. Peter's Square for the traditional papal “Urbi et Orbi'' address, Latin for “To the City and to the World,'' which serves as a summary of the woes facing the world.

While the crowd gathered under a steady downpour during the papal Mass inside St. Peter's basilica, the rain had subsided by the time Leo took a brief tour of the square in the popemobile, then spoke to the crowd from the loggia.

Leo revived the tradition of offering Christmas greetings in multiple languages abandoned by his predecessor, Pope Francis. He received especially warm cheers when he made his greetings in his native English and Spanish, the language of his adopted country of Peru where he served first as a missionary and then as archbishop.

Someone in the crowd shouted out “Viva il papa!'' or ”Long live the pope!'' before he retreated into the basilica. Leo took off his glasses for a final wave.

During the traditional address, the pope emphasized that everyone could contribute to peace by acting with humility and responsibility.

“If he would truly enter into the suffering of others and stand in solidarity with the weak and the oppressed, then the world would change,'' the pope said.

Leo called for “justice, peace and stability” in Lebanon, Palestine, Israel and Syria, prayers for “the tormented people of Ukraine,'' and “peace and consolation” for victims of wars, injustice, political stability, religious persecution and terrorism, citing Sudan, South Sudan, Mali, Burkina Faso and Congo.

The pope also urged dialogue to address “numerous challenges” in Latin America, reconciliation in Myanmar, the restoration of “the ancient friendship between Thailand and Cambodia,'' and assistance for the suffering of those hit by natural disasters in South Asia and Oceania.

“In becoming man, Jesus took upon himself our fragility, identifying with each one of us: with those who have nothing left and have lost everything, like the inhabitants of Gaza; with those who are prey to hunger and poverty, like the Yemeni people; with those who are fleeing their homeland to seek a future elsewhere, like the many refugees and migrants who cross the Mediterranean or traverse the American continent,'' the pontiff said.

He also remembered those who have lost their jobs or are seeking work, especially young people, underpaid workers and those in prison.

Earlier, Leo led the Christmas Day Mass from the central altar beneath the balustrade of St. Peter’s Basilica, adorned with floral garlands and clusters of red poinsettias. White flowers were set at the feet of a statue of Mary, mother of Jesus, whose birth is celebrated on Christmas Day.

In his homily, Leo underlined that peace can emerge only through dialogue.

“There will be peace when our monologues are interrupted and, enriched by listening, we fall to our knees before the humanity of the other,” he said.

He remembered the people of Gaza, “exposed for weeks to rain, wind and cold” and the fragility of “defenseless populations, tried by so many wars,’’ and of “young people forced to take up arms, who on the front lines feel the senselessness of what is asked of them, and the falsehoods that fill the pompous speeches of those who send them to their deaths.’’

Thousands of people packed the basilica for the pope’s first Christmas Day Mass, holding aloft their smartphones to capture images of the opening procession.

This Christmas season marks the winding down of the Holy Year celebrations, which will close on Jan. 6, the Catholic Epiphany holiday marking the visit of the three wise men to the baby Jesus in Bethlehem.

Barry reported from Milan.

Pope Leo XIV delivers the Urbi et Orbi (Latin for 'to the city and to the world' ) Christmas' day blessing from the main balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope Leo XIV waves before delivering the Urbi et Orbi (Latin for 'to the city and to the world' ) Christmas' day blessing from the main balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope Leo XIV waves after delivering the Urbi et Orbi (Latin for 'to the city and to the world' ) Christmas' day blessing from the main balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope Leo XIV waves after delivering the Urbi et Orbi (Latin for 'to the city and to the world' ) Christmas' day blessing from the main balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope Leo XIV holds up the book of the Gospel during the Christmas Day Mass at the St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope Leo XIV presides over Christmas Day Mass at the St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope Leo XIV presides over Christmas Day Mass at the St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope Leo XIV presides over Christmas Day Mass at the St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)