Coco Gauff stopped her Olympic tennis match on Tuesday to defend herself after an “unfair” call from a line judge that she said she felt was deliberate.
The emotional altercation with the chair umpire occurred during Gauff's third-round singles match against Croatia's Donna Vekic, which she eventually won in straight sets.
During the second set, Vekic hit a ball that landed close to the baseline, and the linesman ruled it out. When the linesman made his ruling, Gauff returned the ball to the net. But when Vekic's shot was ruled in, head referee Jaume Campistol awarded the point to Vekic.
“That’s not fair. He announced it before I hit the ball,” Gauff told Campistall.
As tears streamed down her cheeks, Gauff continued: “I never argued those decisions, but you shouted them before I hit the ball. It happens to me all the time on this court. It happens to me every time at the French Open… I always have to defend myself every time.”
Campistol later responded, saying: “I’m not saying I’m right, I’m just saying the way I see it… I know I’m wrong but I can’t change my decision after your appeal.”
An arbitrator stepped in to mediate the discussion while Goff explained why she thought the decision was wrong.
“It’s not fair. I feel like I’m constantly being cheated in this game. I feel like it’s constantly, and I have to argue,” Gauff said. “And then you apologize. You say, ‘I’m sorry,’ and then what does that do to me in the game? It’s not fair. Why am I on the underside of these calls?”
The umpire claimed the decision was “not intentional,” to which Gauff responded: “It wasn't intentional?” It happens to me, it happens to Serena… it does.
During the discussion, Gauff appeared to allude to issues she has faced in competitions earlier this year. There was a wrong call at the Dubai Tennis Championships in February, but also an incident at the French Open — on the same court as her match with Vekic — in June. During that match, which she lost to eventual champion Iga Swiatek, Swiatek hit a serve that was called while Gauff was returning it. Gauff’s shot landed wide, but when Swiatek’s serve was counted, she won the point.
