Coco Gauff has broken her silence on a tearful clash she had with the umpire and supervisor during her Olympics defeat. The world No. 2 was upset by Donna Vekic in straight sets in the women’s singles event.
While facing a break point in the second set, Gauff claimed that she was interrupted by an incorrect call when hitting her return.
But the umpire disagreed and awarded the point to Vekic, prompting the American to approach him and argue her case before the supervisor took to the court.
Gauff addressed the debate after her shock third-round exit, explaining why she felt the need to explain herself to chair umpire Jaume Campistol. “I felt that he called it before I hit it 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,” she said.
“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.”
Gauff also called for the use of video reviews, adding: “I feel like in tennis, we should have a VR system because these points are big deals. And, yeah, usually afterwards, they apologise, so it’s kind of frustrating when the sorry doesn’t help you once the match is over.”
While Gauff rejected the idea that the entire match hinged on the crucial point, she admitted that she may not have been broken. The US Open champion continued: “I can’t say I would have won the match if I would have won that point but, for sure, being not a break, whereas maybe replaying that point can make a big difference in that game.
“But I’m not going sit here and say one point affected the result today, because I was already on the losing side of things before that point happened.”
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