Tennis: Teenager Coco Gauff dumped out in Luxembourg opener after maiden WTA title in Austria

In a photo taken on Aug 31, 2019, US' Coco Gauff reacts after losing a point against Japan's Naomi Osaka (not pictured) in the third round on day six of the 2019 US Open tennis tournament in New York. PHOTO: REUTERS

PARIS (AFP) - Fifteen-year-old American Coco Gauff failed to follow up on her maiden WTA tournament win after crashing out in the first round 6-4, 6-0 to Anna Blinkova in Luxembourg on Wednesday (Oct 16).

The teenage sensation made headlines around the world on Sunday when she captured her first career title in Linz, Austria, aged 15 years and seven months.

She became the youngest player to win a WTA event since Czech Nicole Vaidisova, who triumphed in Vancouver and Tashkent two months apart in 2004 as a 15-year-old, and shot up 39 places in the WTA rankings to world No. 71.

However, eighth seed Russian Blinkova was too strong for the young American, breaking Gauff's resistance in the first set before crushing her to love in the second and setting up a second-round match against Germany's Tatjana Maria.

Gauff had shot to prominence with solid performances in the summer at both Wimbledon, where she lost in the fourth round to former world No. 1 Simona Halep, and the US Open, where she was defeated in the third round by defending champion Naomi Osaka.

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