Coco Gauff Gets Emotional in Controversial Loss to Vekic
Coco Gauff was quite enraged and emotional as tears went down her face as she argued with the Court Philippe Chatrier’s chair umpire, who made an officiating decision that she was so sure that went the other way around. Instead, the tennis favorite for the United States gets eliminated in the third round at the Summer Olympics at the hands of Donna Vekic, 7-6 (7), 6-2.
It was on the most heated moments of the Olympics so far, and it happened the least way that fans would expect it to unfold. Gauff was complaining not to the other player, but to the umpire instead. So far, no players have been seen making such strides against officials in the Olympic stage, which makes this incident a rare sight.
Gauff, who was the no. 2 seed in the Olympic Women’s Singles, was eliminated from the competition. It is worth noting, however, that Gauff is still playing in tennis doubles and mixed doubles, pairing with Jessica Pegula and Taylor Fritz in those respective competitions, which means that she still has a chance to play for a gold medal at the very least.
The Delaying Incident
The disputed call took place with just two games away from the end of the match. At the time, Gauff was already way behind and was on the verge of losing. The American star would go on to hit a serve with Vekic’s return landing near the baseline. There was a line judge who called that Vekic’s shot was out, and Gauff did not keep the ball in play but it did hit her racket before the chair umpire, Jaume Campistol said that Vekic's shot was in.
That led to Vekic getting a service break with a 4-2 lead – which prompted Gauff to approach the official to argue the call that led to a delay for several minutes.
"I never argue these calls. But he called it out before I hit the ball," Gauff said to Campistol. "It's not even a perception; it's the rules."
Of course, this situation definitely spiced up the crowd as they directed a lot of “boos” to the official, especially when Gauff gave up arguing with the official – with tears still on her face. In about 10 minutes after that incident, the match was over with Vekic moving on to the next round.
Not the First Time for Gauff
It is worth noting that this incident brought back some interesting arguments for Gauff. The American star felt that the scene was almost too familiar with the same thing that happened in the French Open. Of course, it also ended with her crying about the call simply because the official stood by their wrong call.
"It always happens here at the French Open to me. Every time," Gauff said. "This is like the fourth, fifth time it's happened this year.”
Gauff also said that it has already happened to her several times this year, not just in the French Open or the Olympics, but also in different events. Right now, Gauff is lobbying to appeal to tennis authorities to bring in a video review to come up with accurate calls, much like other professional sports out there.
For now, Gauff’s dream in the Tennis singles is over in the Olympics, but at least she still has a chance to come up with two more gold medals. After all, a medal is still a medal at the end of the day.