Coco Gauff was emotional after an extended dispute with the chair umpire during her match against Donna Vekic at the Paris Olympics on Tuesday.
The reigning US Open singles champion was behind in the second set of her 7-6, 6-2 defeat when the argument occurred.
After Gauff served, Vekic’s return appeared to fall near the baseline. A line judge initially called the shot out, and Gauff did not continue the rally. However, chair umpire Jaume Campistol ruled that Vekic’s shot was in, awarding her the point and handing the Croatian a service break with a 4-2 lead.
Gauff approached the official, resulting in a delay of several minutes in the match. “I never argue these calls. But he called it out before I hit the ball,” Gauff expressed to Campistol. “It’s not just perception; it’s in the rules. I have to advocate for myself.”
Seeded second in the women’s singles competition in Paris, Gauff breezed through her initial two matches, only dropping five games. However, the 20-year-old’s first Olympic singles tournament—while continuing in women’s doubles and mixed doubles—concluded on a day that proved challenging due to the soaring temperature above 32C (90F).
Prior to the controversy over the umpiring decision, Gauff had struggled to maintain a strong start against Vekic, a semi-finalist at Wimbledon earlier this month. Gauff initially led 4-1 and was one point away from going ahead 5-1, but she couldn’t capitalize, ultimately wasting a few set points at 6-4 in the ensuing tiebreaker. Vekic closed out the first set decisively and continued her solid play in the second, finishing with an impressive 33 winners compared to Gauff’s nine.
However, the highlight of the match was undoubtedly the dispute in the second set. This incident was not the first time Gauff has been frustrated by a call she deemed incorrect, especially at Roland Garros, which also hosted the French Open earlier this year.
In fact, a similar situation occurred during Gauff’s loss to eventual champion Iga Świątek in the French Open semi-finals last month, after which Gauff labeled it “almost ridiculous” that tennis lacks video replay technology for all events.
after newsletter promotion
During her conversation with Campistol and a supervisor who joined them on the court, Gauff referenced the Świątek match. “This always happens to me at the French Open. It’s like the fourth or fifth time this year it’s occurred,” she lamented.
When Gauff eventually returned to the court to continue play, the crowd responded with loud boos, seemingly directed at the officials. She won the first point of the next game, prompting cheers from the audience, but about 10 minutes later, the match concluded.
