Coco Gauff is out of the women's singles draw at the 2024 Paris Olympics after losing 7-6 (7), 6-2 to Croatian Donna Vekic in a Round of 16 match that was marred by controversy on Tuesday morning.
Gauff lost the first set tiebreak despite being up 4-1, but things deteriorated for the American in the second set. After hitting a serve that Vekic returned close to the baseline while trailing 3-2 in the second, a line judge called the ball out right as Gauff was preparing to return the shot. But chair umpire Jaume Campistol believed the shot landed in, earning Vekic a massive service break and a 4-2 lead in the set.
Play was delayed for several minutes as Gauff argued with Campistol over the call, and the American flag bearer was in tears by the end of the exchange.
“I felt that they called it before I hit. I don’t think the ref disagreed. I think he just thought it didn’t, like, affect my swing, which I felt like it did,” Gauff said, per The Athletic's Nicole Auerbach.
“There have 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. I feel like in tennis, we should have a VAR system because these points are big deals. Usually, afterwards they apologize. It’s kind of frustrating when the sorry doesn’t help you once the match is over. It’s not fair at all. You guys are not fair to me and I hope one day that the game becomes fair but it’s not.”
Coco Gauff admits she was unlikely to win match at that point
The match only lasted about 10 minutes after the exchange, with Vekic winning each of the next two games to advance to the quarterfinals. The 20-year-old Gauff was the No. 2 seed in Paris, winning her first two matches while dropping only five games. It was a tough matchup for her, as Vekic is fresh off an appearance in the Wimbledon semifinals earlier this month.
Vekic finished with 33 winners in the match, while Gauff hit just nine.
“I can’t say I would have won the match if I would have won that point. But being down a break… Maybe replaying that point can make a big difference in that game,” said the reigning US Open champion, per Auerbach. “But I’m not gonna sit here and say one point affected the result today, because I was already on the losing side of things before that point happened.”
Despite being out of the singles draw, Gauff will continue her Olympics campaign with American Jessica Pegula in women's doubles later on Tuesday.
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