‘It always happens here’: tearful Coco Gauff disputes call during Olympic tennis exit

Coco Gauff became emotional and upset after having a long argument with the chair umpire during her match against Donna Vekic at the Paris Olympics.

Gauff, who currently holds the title of US Open singles champion, was behind in the second set of her match, which she lost 7-6, 6-2, when she got into a dispute with the umpire.

In the tennis match, Gauff served the ball and Vekic returned it close to the back line. A judge said Vekic's shot was out at first, so Gauff didn't try to keep playing. Umpire Jaume Campistol disagreed, saying Vekic's shot was in, and gave her the point. This gave Vekic a service break and put her ahead 4-2 in the game.

Gauff approached the official to discuss the call, causing a delay in the game. “I usually don't dispute these calls. But he said it was out before I even hit the ball,” Gauff told Campistol. “It's not just a matter of opinion; it's about following the rules. I always have to stand up for myself.”

The American player was ranked second in the women's singles at the tournament in Paris and had no trouble winning her first two matches, only losing five games in total. However, the 20-year-old did not perform her best in her first Olympic singles event, which took place on the hottest day of the Paris Games so far, with temperatures reaching above 32C (90F) during her match. She is still competing in the women's doubles and mixed doubles events.

Even before the controversy with the umpiring decision, Gauff struggled to maintain her strong start against Vekic, who reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon earlier this month. Gauff was ahead 4-1 and was close to going up 5-1 and serving for the first set. However, she was unable to close out the set and missed a couple of set points during the tiebreaker. Vekic dominated the rest of the set and continued her solid performance in the second set. A clear indication of Vekic's superiority in this match was her 33 winners compared to Gauff's nine.

However, the most notable part of the game was the disagreement in the second set. This isn't the initial occurrence where Gauff has been frustrated by a decision she believed was wrong. It also isn't the first time at Roland Garros, where both the French Open and the upcoming Olympic tennis tournament will take place.

During a recent match, Gauff lost to eventual champion Iga Świątek in the semi-finals of the French Open. Gauff was frustrated after the match and expressed disbelief that tennis does not use video replay technology in all tournaments.

She mentioned the Świątek match during a conversation with Campistol and a supervisor that happened on the court on Tuesday. Gauff expressed her frustration, saying that similar incidents have occurred at the French Open multiple times this year.

After Gauff decided to continue playing and returned to the court, the fans loudly expressed their disapproval, mainly towards the officials. Gauff won the first point of the next game, leading to enthusiastic cheers from the spectators. However, the match ended quickly, just 10 minutes later.

Gauff mentioned after the game that the controversial decision did not cause her loss.

"I won't just blame one thing for today's result, I was already losing before that," she explained.