Coco Gauff defeated Jessica Pegula, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals.
The two-time Grand Slam champion won another three-set match to continue her charge towards the Wimbledon title.
But does Gauff really stand a chance of victory?
Give us your one crazy prediction for the second week of Wimbledon!
During BBC Radio 5 Live’s coverage, five-time Wimbledon doubles champion Pam Shriver answered that question.
Pam Shriver believes everyone left in the women’s draw can win Wimbledon this year
“Yes, of course she can [win the title],” said Shriver.
“I’m telling you, I can do an argument for any one of the players left in this tournament.”
Gauff is one of seven players remaining in the 2026 Wimbledon women’s singles draw.
2026 Wimbledon contenders
| Player | Next opponent | WTA Rank | Grand Slams |
| Coco Gauff | SF vs Naomi Osaka/Karolina Muchova | 7th | 2 (2023 US Open, 2025 French Open |
| Karolina Muchova | QF vs Naomi Osaka | 9th | 0 |
| Linda Noskova | QF vs Elise Mertens | 12th | 0 |
| Marta Kostyuk | QF vs Jasmine Paolini | 13th | 0 |
| Naomi Osaka | QF vs Karolina Muchova | 14th | 4 (2018 US Open, 2019 Australian Open, 2020 US Open, 2021 Australian Open) |
| Jasmine Paolini | QF vs Marta Kostyuk | 17th | 0 |
| Elise Mertens | QF vs Linda Noskova | 27th | 0 |
She is the highest-ranked player in the draw and is a multiple Grand Slam champion, something only her potential semi-final opponent, Naomi Osaka, can match.
Shriver believes that gives Gauff the edge as we approach the latter stages of this year’s Wimbledon Championships.
“I think when you’ve won two majors… She’s won them recently,” said Shriver.
“[Naomi] Osaka hasn’t won them since 2021!
“It’s setting up as another fascinating end of Wimbledon on the women’s side.”
Shriver believes Gauff has the potential to win the title, and it’s not hard to understand why, having watched her fight back to beat Pegula on Centre Court.
For the fourth consecutive match, Gauff won in a deciding set to advance.
Coco Gauff at Wimbledon in 2026
- 1R [WIN] vs Tamara Korpatsch, 6-2, 6-1
- 2R [WIN] vs Solana Sierra, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6
- 3R [WIN] vs Claire Liu, 6-3, 6-7, 6-2
- 4R [WIN] vs Belinda Bencic, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
- QF [WIN] vs Jessica Pegula, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3
Also working for BBC Radio 5 Live, former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash delivered his verdict on Gauff’s quarter-final win.
“Good effort, wasn’t it!” said Cash.
“She was having all sorts of timing issues in the first set, and the majority of the second set as well.
“But at 4-4, she came out and played a great game. Broke serve, and then her serve clicked, her first serve clicked.
“Boom. Served out the second set really easily and carried that momentum going forward.
“Had a little hiccup in the middle where the old Coco double-faults and missed forehands [returned].
“But she tidied it up almost immediately, as opposed to having four or five games of bad errors like she did in the first set.
“A good fight.
“It’s incredible how many times she’s not playing well, but somehow she’s able to get through the match.”
“But she did play well after the first set!” added Shriver.
“That was the best Coco Gauff has played the entire time. I tell you what, an hour and 48 minutes, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, a lot of times you’d see that kind of scoreline take 2 hours, 20.
“They played so quickly between points.”
Shriver continued, reflecting on Gauff’s grass-court journey to the Wimbledon semi-finals.
“It’s hard to believe it’s been seven years since she made that run through qualifying, beat Venus [Williams] first round, made it through to the round of 16,” she said.
“Has really struggled on grass since then, you heard her say I hadn’t won a match in two years, she lost to [Sofia] Kenin last year, first round, after winning Roland Garros, but she’s found her footing, literally and figuratively, and that forehand and the second serve held up, after a tight first set.
“The quality at the end of that match was fantastic.”
Gauff and Pegula both deserve praise for the level they produced at the end of the third set.
But it will be Gauff who advances to her first semi-final at Wimbledon.
Coco Gauff completes Grand Slam semi-final set with latest Wimbledon win
Defeating Pegula in the Wimbledon quarter-finals, Gauff has now reached the semi-finals of all four Grand Slams.
Coco Gauff’s Grand Slam semi-finals
- Australian Open – 2024
- French Open – 2022, 2024, 2025
- Wimbledon – 2026
- US Open – 2023
She is also just two wins away from winning her third unique major title, having won the French Open and US Open once before.
Only time will tell what the future holds for Gauff, but you certainly won’t want to miss any of the action.
Gauff will return to play her semi-final match on Thursday, July 9.
