2024-07-31 04:30:02
Coco Gauff‘s run in the women’s singles tournament in Paris came to a crashing halt Tuesday following a last-minute call reversal in her match against Croatia’s Donna Vekic.
Toward the end of the second set — with Gauff down 2-3, 30-40 — Vekic returned a forehand shot that was ruled out by a line judge as Gauff was striking the ball. Because of the call, which typically ends a point, Gauff didn’t finish her stroke properly, resulting in the ball hitting the net. After Gauff made contact, the chair umpire called for a correction to the out call. The correction ruled Vekic’s shot to be in and Gauff’s return shot a fault. The result would put Vekic up a break.
Gauff immediately disputed the point with the chair umpire.
“You called the ball out before I even hit the ball,” the 20-year old emphatically told the ref.
“That doesn’t matter,” the chair umpire responded.
After a short time, International Tennis Federation tournament referee Clare Wood came on court, causing Gauff to change the target of her challenges.
“It always happens to me on this court,” Gauff noted as tears streamed down her face. “I feel like I’ve been cheated on constantly. I hope one day the game becomes fair because it’s not.”
Though the crowd seemed to be on Gauff’s side, hurling criticisms at Vekic as the two returned to play, the American was unable to regain the composure with which she began the tournament, eventually losing the second set.
Here’s a breakdown of what happened.
