Coco Gauff had a difficult loss that left her overcome with emotion and out of the Paris Olympics Women’s Singles on Tuesday.
Facing off against Croatia’s Donna Vekic at Stade Roland Garros, the 20-year-old Grand Slam champion fell short 6-7, 2-6. Midway through the match, Gauff became emotional as she challenged chair umpire Jaume Campistol, during a five-minute dispute in which she challenged a call that the umpire ruled out before she had the chance to hit it.
The umpire ruled in favor of Vekic and awarded her the point, to the dismay of the crowd. Gauff continued to trail her opponent and could not recover a win.
“I never argue these calls. But he called it out before I hit the ball,” she said. “It’s not even a perception; it’s the rules. I always have to advocate for myself,” Gauff said during the dispute as she wiped away tears.
After the match, Gauff spoke to reporters where she shared that tennis needs a video review system.
“There’s been multiple times this year where that happened to me, where I feel like I always have to be an advocate for myself on the court,” she later told reporters via CNN. “And I feel like in tennis, we should have a VR system because these points are big deals. Usually, afterwards, they apologize, so it’s kind of frustrating when the sorry doesn’t help you once the match is over.”
Gauff faced an issue similar to this one in June during the French Open.
While she is out of the Women’s Singles, Gauff still has a chance to get a medal for U.S. Tennis as she plays in the doubles and mixed doubles competition.
Gauff’s loss came after a night of celebration and showing off her official Snoop Dogg Paris Olympics pin.
On Monday night, Gauff showed off the pin on her Instagram Story, writing, “I win the pin game.”
Gauff’s first Olympics started off historic as she joined LeBron James as the official flag bearer during the opening ceremony. Following the ceremony, Gauff took to X (formally known as Twitter) to celebrate the occasion.
“I just want to say thank you to my fellow team usa olympians/athletes for voting and choosing me for this incredible honor to be the flag bearer for the opening ceremony ❤️,” she wrote. “Thank you so much. I am incredibly honored. 🥹🇺🇸.”
RELATED CONTENT: