American tennis player Coco Gauff came to blows with the umpire and broke down in tears during an Olympics match yesterday (30 July).
20-year-old Gauff, who is the world No. 2 and the reigning US Open singles champion, took on Croatia's Donna Vekic for a women’s singles match as part of the 2024 Olympic games.
This year's Olympics marks Gauff's first time playing in the women's singles of the competition.
Tensions were high during the game, with Gauff facing a defeat as her opponent took the lead in the second set.
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Things reached breaking point, however, when Gauff hit a serve and Vekic’s return landed near the baseline.
Initially, a line judge called Vekic’s shot out - meaning that Gauff did not keep the ball in play.
However, Jaume Campistol, the chair umpire determined that Vekic’s shot had landed in and gave her the point, which led to a service break and a 4-2 lead.
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Gauff was unable to hold her emotions back when she approached the umpire and said: "I never argue these calls. But he called it out before I hit the ball.
“It’s not even a perception; it’s the rules. I always have to advocate for myself.”
As per The Daily Express, Gauff believed that her performance had been affected by an incorrect call and thought the point should be replayed rather than awarded to Vekic.
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The umpire then responded to Gauff: "For me, the call didn’t affect your shot."
To which Gauff replied: "He called it out before I hit it. That’s why I went up on the ball."
The supervisor, Clare Wood, was then called to court.
Commentator Miles Maclagan said: "I think the umpire has made the correct call. I have sympathy for both because it happened so quickly and you’re not necessarily looking for it either."
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Gauff didn't hold back when attempting to reason with the supervisor as she said: "You have to understand, he called it out before I hit it.
"What’s the rule? It’s not even a millisecond, he called it when I hit the ball. I understand if it was the same time but it was before."
She continued: "It happened to me in July, it happened to me here. This isn’t fair. This isn’t fair. I feel like I’m getting cheated on constantly in this game. I constantly feel like that and then I have to argue. No because I do and then you guys apologise after."
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Boos could be heard throughout the stadium as the game was paused while trying to reach a judgement call, with The Guardian reporting that it was 'seemingly directed at the officials.'
Gauff gave up on her attempt and resumed play, losing to Vekic.
After the match, Gauff said the call did not affect her performance, adding: "I’m not going to sit here and say one point affected the result today, I was already on the losing side of things."
Kya Buller