Top billings Coco Gauff and Ben Shelton exit Cincinnati Open hours apart on nightmare day for US; only one American alive in entire tournament now

Coco Gauff and Ben Shelton faced shock exits from the 2025 Cincinnati Open, exiting in the quarterfinals on a nightmare day for American tennis. While Gauff lost out to Jasmine Paolini, Shelton came down crashing against Alexander Zverev.

Gauff was the favorite to beat Paolini and reach the semifinals against Veronika Kudermetova. However, the World No. 2 could not capitalize despite taking the opening set 6-2, and ended up losing 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 against the Italian. Paolini has now won her last three matches against Gauff on the trot, and will head to the US Open full of confidence.

Meanwhile, Shelton came into the Cincinnati quarterfinals brimming with hope, having just won his maiden ATP 1000 title at the Canadian Open earlier this month. Unfortunately, he never found his footing against Zverev and lost 2-6, 2-6 to the German. Zverev will now take on Carlos Alcaraz for a spot in the final.

With both singles tournaments now rid of all Americans, there is only one player representing the USA at the event. In women's doubles, Peyton Stearns was the last hope, and she lost in the quarterfinals. Partnering with Marketa Vondrousova, the pair went down against top seeds Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini.

In men's doubles, all-American pair Christian Harrison and Evan King lost to Rajeev Ram and Nikola Mektic, making Ram the final American hope at the Cincinnati Open as the tournament heads to a close.

Coco Gauff and Ben Shelton head to US Open 2025 next

TENNIS: AUG 15 Cincinnati Open - Source: Getty

Following their exits from the 2025 Cincinnati Open, Ben Shelton and Coco Gauff are scheduled to play next at the US Open, the final Grand Slam of the season. Gauff has won the tournament once before, winning in 2023 before Aryna Sabalenka took it last year. On the other hand, Shelton is a former semifinalist at the event and will be one of the favorites for the title this year.

Shelton is scheduled to play mixed doubles at Flushing Meadows in 2025, partnering with Taylor Townsend. Gauff, however, has chosen not to play, explaining her reasons for why in a recent interview:

"For me, it was just because I know the free week of the US Open is already packed for me, for sponsor things, and it was just like a whole other thing. And I’m very competitive; if I were to lose, I would not be happy. So, I didn’t want to waste mental energy on that... I just knew it wasn’t going to work out for me, scheduling-wise."

Gauff has played mixed doubles at Grand Slams only four times before, twice at the US Open and twice at Wimbledon.