Coco Gauff in Tears After Argument with Chair Umpire at Paris Olympics
The scene on Court Philippe Chatrier was all too familiar for Coco Gauff: an officiating decision she was convinced was wrong, a chair umpire who wouldn’t listen, and tears streaming down her cheeks. On Tuesday, Gauff, the reigning U.S. Open champion, was eliminated from the Paris Olympics singles tennis tournament by Croatia’s Donna Vekic in straight sets, 7-6 (7), 6-2.
Gauff, a 20-year-old American and one of the biggest stars at the 2024 Paris Games, found herself in an emotional dispute with chair umpire Jaume Campistol over a controversial call that occurred two games from the end of the match. The incident happened when Vekic’s return on a serve from Gauff landed near the baseline. A line judge initially called Vekic’s shot out before Gauff could send it back, but Campistol overruled and awarded the point to Vekic, giving her a service break and a 4-2 lead.
“I never argue these calls. But he called it out before I hit the ball,” Gauff told Campistol during the heated exchange. “It’s not even a perception; it’s the rules. I always have to advocate for myself.”
Despite her protestations, the decision stood, leaving Gauff visibly frustrated and in tears. The crowd on Court Philippe Chatrier, the main stadium used annually for the French Open, expressed their displeasure with boos directed at the official.
This incident was reminiscent of a similar controversy Gauff faced during her loss to eventual champion Iga Swiatek in the French Open semifinals last month. Gauff had argued over a call in that match as well, calling it “almost ridiculous” that tennis does not employ video replay technology at all events, as many other sports do.
“There’s been multiple times this year where that’s happened to me — where I felt like I always have to be an advocate for myself on the court,” Gauff said after her match against Vekic, renewing her call for video review in tennis. “I felt that he called it before I hit, and I don’t think the ref disagreed. I think he just thought it didn’t affect my swing, which I felt like it did.”
Gauff’s first Olympic singles tournament ended with a performance that was hardly her best, on the hottest day of the Summer Games so far, with temperatures rising above 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 Celsius). She led 4-1 in the first set and was a point from moving ahead 5-1 and serving for the opening set. However, she couldn’t close the deal, then wasted a couple of set points at 6-4 in the ensuing tiebreaker. Vekic surged to the end of that set and maintained her level in the second.
Despite the controversial call, Gauff acknowledged that the point in question did not solely determine the outcome of the match. “I’m not going to sit here and say one point affected the result today,” she said. “I was already on the losing side of things.”
One measure of Vekic’s superiority on this afternoon was her tally of 33 winners to just nine for Gauff. Vekic, who was a semifinalist at Wimbledon this month, advanced to the quarterfinals with this victory.
Gauff, who was seeded No. 2 at the Olympics in singles and served as the female flag bearer for the United States during the opening ceremony, expressed her frustration over repeated officiating issues. “This always happens to me,” she said, holding a tennis ball in one hand and her racket in the other while pleading her case. “This is like the fourth, fifth time it’s happened this year.”
Despite the setback in singles, Gauff remains in contention for a medal in the doubles and mixed doubles events. Later on Tuesday, she returned to the court with U.S. teammate Taylor Fritz and won a first-round mixed doubles match against Nadia Podoroska and Maximo Gonzalez of Argentina to reach the quarterfinals. Gauff is also competing in women’s doubles at the Paris Olympics with Jessica Pegula.