At Wimbledon, Coco Gauff loses to Emma Navarro because she is unable to get a fresh game plan.

 **LONDON (AP) — Coco Gauff struggled against Emma Navarro at Centre Court on Sunday, frequently seeking help from her coaches. Despite Brad Gilbert's efforts to assist, the fix never arrived.

Gauff, yet to advance past the fourth round at Wimbledon, was eliminated at that stage again, falling to Navarro 6-4, 6-3 in an all-American matchup.

“We had a game plan, and I felt it wasn’t working. I don’t always ask for advice from the box, but today I felt I didn’t have solutions,” said Gauff, the reigning U.S. Open champion and seeded No. 2 at the All England Club. “I felt like I wanted more direction.”

Hers was the latest in a series of early exits by top women in this year's Wimbledon bracket: No. 1 Iga Swiatek lost on Saturday, No. 3 Aryna Sabalenka withdrew with an injured shoulder before playing a match, and No. 6 Marketa Vondrousova, last year’s champion, was defeated in the first round.

Only two of the 10 highest-seeded women remain: 2022 champion Elena Rybakina, who is No. 4, and recent French Open runner-up Jasmine Paolini, who is No. 7 and meets Navarro next. Rybakina plays her fourth-round match Monday, while Paolini advanced Sunday when Madison Keys stopped playing due to injury.

The 19th-seeded Navarro, who writes notes to herself on her phone to prepare for matches, reached a major quarterfinal for the first time. She showcased her potential in the second round by defeating four-time major champion Naomi Osaka.

“I’m believing that this is possible as it’s happening. I’m starting to think, ‘Why not me? Why can’t I make a quarterfinal run? Why can’t I go deep in Grand Slams?’” said Navarro, 23, who grew up in South Carolina and won the 2021 NCAA championship in her first year at the University of Virginia.

On Sunday, she noticed Gauff's interactions with Gilbert and her growing frustration.

“I don’t normally give the other side of the court too much energy. I keep it on my side of the court. (But) seeing her kind of frustrated and looking at her box, putting her arms up in the air — it definitely gave me a little bit of a confidence boost,” Navarro said. “It maybe gave me a little bit of momentum and some energy that I needed.”

Gauff, the 20-year-old from Florida, has been the runner-up at the French Open and reached the semifinals at the Australian Open. However, despite her first major breakthrough at Wimbledon at age 15, when she became the youngest qualifier in tournament history and beat Venus Williams in the first round en route to reaching the fourth round, Gauff has never bettered that result.

She exited in the fourth round in 2021, then lost in the third round in 2022 and the first round a year ago.

On Sunday, Gauff kept making mistakes, finishing with more than twice as many unforced errors (25) as winners (12). Her biggest issue was her forehand, a known weakness. Navarro repeatedly targeted that side, and it paid off.

“I really wanted to attack her forehand,” Navarro said afterward.

Gauff made 16 unforced errors with forehands, and another 16 forced errors, accounting for 32 of the 61 total points won by Navarro.

“I have the ability to raise my level when players play well, and I feel I didn’t do that today,” Gauff said.

She explained that in the past, her coaches usually provided effective mid-match advice, but added: “I don’t think we were all in sync.”

“No one’s to blame except myself,” Gauff said. “I mean, I’m the player out there.”