Fifth seed Jessica Pegula was sent crashing out of the French Open in the first round on Tuesday evening, falling 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 to Australia’s Kimberly Birrell in the biggest women’s upset of the tournament so far.
The American, a semifinalist at the past two Grand Slams, looked in complete control on Court Simonne-Mathieu after racing through the opening set in just over half an hour. Birrell, ranked 83rd in the world, struggled to handle Pegula’s depth and pace early, conceding the set with barely a foothold in the rally exchanges.
The second set told a different story. Birrell found her range on the forehand and began dictating from the baseline, breaking Pegula twice to level the match. The 28-year-old Australian, who reached semifinals in Adelaide and Austin earlier this season, grew into the contest as Pegula’s first-serve percentage dropped and her unforced error count climbed.
Decider. Birrell carried the momentum into the third, breaking early and holding her nerve through a series of tight service games. Pegula could not find a way back into the match, and the Australian closed out the biggest win of her career on her second match point.
For Pegula, the loss continues a difficult relationship with Roland Garros. It is her third first-round exit in nine appearances at the French Open, and follows last year’s fourth-round defeat to French wildcard Loïs Boisson. The 32-year-old arrived in Paris with strong recent form on the major stage — a run to the Australian Open semifinals in January and a US Open semifinal last September, where she fell to eventual champion Aryna Sabalenka — but has yet to translate that progress to clay. Her best run in Paris remains a quarterfinal appearance in 2022.
For Birrell, the win marks a breakthrough moment. The Australian has spent much of her career on the Challenger circuit and qualifying through tour-level events, and Tuesday’s victory is her first over a top-10 opponent at a Grand Slam. She faces a winnable second-round match as one half of the draw opens up considerably with Pegula’s exit.
Looking ahead. The result reshapes the bottom quarter of the women’s draw, removing one of the more reliable seeds from a section that defending champion Coco Gauff is positioned to navigate. Pegula’s exit also raises fresh questions about her clay-court ceiling heading into the grass swing, where she has historically performed well — she won Bad Homburg ahead of Wimbledon last year before another early Slam exit at the All England Club.
Birrell next plays the winner of Wednesday’s match between Renata Zarazúa and Diana Shnaider.
