Coco Gauff makes ‘cheated’ claim after arguing umpire in Olympics defeat
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American tennis player Coco Gauff accused the chair umpire of unfairness and had a heated disagreement while she was knocked out of the women's singles tournament at the Olympics.
The winner of the US Open was defeated in the third round at Roland Garros in Paris by Donna Vekic, who reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon. The match took place in intense heat, with Vekic winning 7-6(7) 6-2.
Gauff broke down in tears on Court Philippe-Chatier while discussing a controversial call with the chair umpire. This heated exchange closely resembled a previous disagreement that affected her loss to eventual champion Iga Swiatek at the French Open.
In the second set, Gauff was behind in the match and objected to a line judge's decision that Vekic's shot had gone out of bounds before she was ready to hit it. Gauff believed this caused her to miss the shot. The chair umpire, Jaume Campistol, reviewed the call and gave the point to Vekic.
Vekic earned a crucial point that gave her the advantage in the second set. She went on to win the match after Gauff got into an argument with the umpire and started crying.
The 20-year-old athlete represented America at the opening ceremony alongside LeBron James. She was seeded second and was aiming to win the gold medal in singles.
During her disagreement with the umpire, Gauff stated: "I usually don't dispute these decisions, but he called it out before I even made contact with the ball. This always seems to happen to me on this specific court!
Contact the manager. This situation keeps occurring to me consistently. I have to constantly speak up for myself. I feel like I'm being taken advantage of in this situation. It's not fair to me.
Afterwards, Gauff reiterated her support for the use of video reviews in tennis, saying: "There have been several occasions this year where this has happened to me - where I have felt like I am always the one defending myself on the court."
"I had a sense that he made the decision before I even swung, and I don't believe the referee objected," she explained. "I believe he simply didn't think it impacted my swing, but I personally felt that it did."
These situations are significant. Typically, they express regret afterwards. This can be quite irritating. Apologies don't change the outcome once the game is finished. I can't say for sure that I would have won the match if I had won that point.
Gauff, who was ahead 5-2 at the beginning and was close to winning the first set, still has dreams of earning an Olympics medal for Team USA in the women's doubles with Jessica Pegula and mixed doubles with Taylor Fritz.
