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Coco Gauff, a 20-year-old tennis sensation from Delray Beach, is no stranger to heated confrontations with officials, and what happened Tuesday at the Paris Olympics must’ve felt like déjÁ vu all over again for the rising star.
In a third-round match, Gauff was eliminated from the Olympics singles competition when she fell to Croatia’s Donna Vekić in two sets, 7-6 (9/7), 6-2, at Roland Garros stadium.
Gauff’s attempt at a comeback unraveled after an emotional dispute with the chair umpire – which was eerily reminiscent of her confrontation with an official last month at the French Open, incidentally, at the same Paris venue.
On Tuesday, Gauff was trying to fend off break point, down 3 games to 2 to Vekić in the second set. A linesperson initially called Vekić’s shot out as Gauff struck her return shot, but the chair umpire intervened and ruled the Vekić ball in.
Gauff argued and pleaded with the umpire, claiming the initial call interfered with her swing and caused her to hit her return into the net. “I feel like I’m getting cheated on constantly in this game,” Gauff said.
“I have to always advocate for myself on this court,” Gauff declared. “You guys are not fair to me and I hope one day the game becomes fair, but it’s not.”
Coco Gauff got into an argument with the chair umpire over a ruling during her loss to Donna Vekic
Gauff: "It always happens to me on this court. I have to advocate for myself every time"
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Gauff walked away from the verbal standoff in tears, having lost the critical point. She dropped the remaining games to Vekić.
The dustup may have given Gauff flashbacks of a call that went against her during her semifinal match against Iga Swiatek at the French Open in June. Gauff had a war of words with a chair umpire who had overruled an out call on Swiatek’s serve. As with the controversy at the Paris Olympics, Gauff said the initial call interfered with her swing on the return. (Gauff did break Swiatek’s serve after the dispute in that match.)
The South Florida tennis star has advocated for the use of instant replay to aid officials in making critical decisions in tennis matches.
“At this point, it’s almost ridiculous that we don’t have it,” Gauff said last month. “There are so many decisions that are made, and it sucks as a player to go back or watch online, and you see that you were completely right.”
Ranked No. 2 in the world, Gauff was a stand-out favorite for Team USA and had the honor of being the female flag-bearer at the opening ceremony on Friday night alongside Lebron James.
Gauff made waves after easily winning her first two singles matches. However, her journey at the Paris Olympics came to a dramatic halt in her match against Croatia.