Coco Gauff is through to the quarter-finals at Wimbledon for the first time in her career after coming from behind to beat Belinda Bencic.

Gauff had lost each of her previous three fourth-round matches at All England Club in straight sets but prevailed 4-6 6-3 6-4 just before the curfew on Sunday.

Though the American won the opening three games of the match, Bencic fought back to pull level and then take the first set with another three-game winning streak.

But just when it looked like Gauff's torrid run in the last-16 at Wimbledon was going to continue, she rallied.

The pair traded breaks in the second set, but it was Gauff who got the decisive one, going 4-2 up, though it took three set points for her to force a decider.

With the end-of-day deadline looming, the pair played out a tense final set, with Gauff going a break up early on, only to see it immediately wiped out.

However, Bencic failed to hold onto her serve in the fifth game, and that ultimately proved decisive, as Gauff got over the line with just two minutes to go before the 11pm local curfew in London.

Game. Set. Dame Time. @CocoGauff celebrates like Dame Time after beating the clock by just two minutes! #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/IGzW6fzYBe

— wta (@WTA) July 5, 2026

She will now face Jessica Pegula in the last eight, with both players bidding to reach a maiden semi-final at the tournament. The world number four also had to come from behind to triumph, beating Iva Jovic 4-6 6-3 6-1 earlier in the day.

Gauff holds her nerve to go the distance...again

This was Gauff's third time earning a win over three sets in her four rounds at Wimbledon so far, and she just managed to avoid having to come back out onto the court on Monday to finish the match.

"I'm super happy to be in the quarterfinals, finally," she said in her on-court interview. 

"I was looking at the clock in the last service game, and I was like, 'I have to hit some big serves and big shots'. 

"That was probably the most dramatic finish. I've never had to race against time – playing tennis, we're used to not having a clock, but I felt the pressure, and I'm glad I didn't choose basketball!" 

She had lost all of her previous four career meetings at Wimbledon against seeded opponents prior to this match (2019 vs Simona Halep, 2021 vs Angelique Kerber, 2022 vs Amanda Anisimova and 2024 vs Emma Navarro), but this was another streak she put to bed.

Gauff is now the youngest player to reach the women's singles quarter-finals at all four majors since Iga Swiatek (who achieved the feat at Wimbledon 2023), while she is the youngest American since Serena Williams (at the French Open 2001).