'Wellbeing comes first': Daria Gavrilova's heartbreaking admission after Wimbledon loss

Daria Gavrilova is considering taking time out from tennis after confessing to struggling mentally following her swift first-round exit from Wimbledon.

"I'm not in a good headspace right now," the one-time Australian No.1 said after a 7-5 6-0 collapse against eighth seed Elina Svitolina.

Ranked 20th in the world two years ago, Gavrilova is set to tumble to around 89th after her 11th first-round defeat of an injury-ravaged season.

The 25-year-old has been battling debilitating plantar fasciitis in her foot as well as Achilles tendonitis, which have conspired to erode the usually bubbly star's confidence.

‘CAN’T BELIEVE IT’: Shock over 'crazy' opening day at Wimbledon

‘STAR IS BORN’: 15-year-old shocks Venus Williams in all-time Wimbledon upset

Gavrilova said a mid-career sabbatical may be the solution.

"It's a tough decision to make and it's a bit scary at the same time," she said.

"I would feel a bit guilty doing that, for some reason, but I think it could be the decision I have to make probably because my wellbeing comes first before trying to be a good tennis player.

"I just have to break the cycle.

"I've been having days when I'm super motivated and I'm up and about and days where I'm like 'I'm struggling'."

Gavrilova ‘struggling mentally’

Gavrilova said she could barely walk after a long match in Eastbourne last week.

"I got out of bed and I was really struggling to put any weight on my feet," she said.

"So if that's going to be my tennis career, I'm not sure that's how I want to do it.

"But the scary part is if I do take time off, it's not a guarantee that it's going to get much better."

Gavrilova capitulated from 5-5 in the first set against Svitolina, conceding the last eight games of the match.

"I'm struggling mentally and this is what it came to," she said.

"I felt that I was dictating, but then I got really nervous from 5-all, hit two double faults in one game and didn't win a game from then.

"Definitely lack of confidence. I already don't have much to fall back on because I have not been winning a lot of matches and because of injuries I have not been training as much.

"A few times during the first set I copped out of a few rallies and went for a bigger shot than normal, where normally I'll just grind and make my opponent miss.

"But that's not what I'm doing right now."