The Paris Olympics is not just about excitement and anticipation. For some, it also brings heartbreaks and devastation. The latest victim? American tennis star Coco Gauff. In a highly anticipated R3 match against Donna Vekic, the World No. 2 found herself not only battling her opponent but also grappling with technological errors and poor judgment calls. The frustration was palpable, and the usually composed Gauff was left in tears on the court.

The young American was playing the third round of her maiden Olympics against the Croatian. After losing the first set of the match, Gauff was trying to make a comeback, but the situation did not seem to be favorable for her. The second set of the match was extremely thrilling until an umpire call at 3-2 disrupted Gauff’s momentum. As she was trailing in the match, a shot by Vekic in the second set was called out by the line umpire. Coco perceived that she won the point and hit the ball out herself.

But the chair umpire stepped in to declare that the shot was played inside the line. While ideally, the point should have been played again, the American was made to suffer with Vekic being awarded the point. This left Gauff shattered, who approached the umpire crying inconsolably.

The 20-year-old was seen engaging in a heated debate with the umpire, as she said, “This isn’t fair, I’ve been cheated. I never argue these calls but he called it out before I hit the ball….It always happens to me on this court,” Gauff cried out loud.

Interestingly, some clips of the moment show that the call came after Gauff had hit the ball, making her argument null and void.  “Hopefully one day this sport will be fair.” But this is not the first time when the star player has been subjected to such a scenario at Roland Garros, and the last time, many actually thought she was correct.

In the recently concluded French Open, Coco Gauff expressed her anger over the absence of a video review system in tennis. While she was trying to get her claw back on the match in the semi-finals against Iga Swiatek, a judgment from the umpire marred her campaign. In the second set of the match, Swiatek’s serve was called out just as Gauff hit her return long. But when the umpire overruled the call and awarded the point to Swiatek, Gauff furiously insisted that she hit her return after the ball had already been called out. She asked that the point should have been replayed. 

Gauff had then demanded a VRS in tennis. “I definitely think as a sport we have to evolve, and we have the technology. They’re showing it on TV, so I don’t get why the player can’t see it.” Interestingly, the Olympic games are turning out to be full of emotional scenarios for Donna Vekic’s opponents.

Coco Gauff is not the only player to break in tears against Donna Vekic

Donna Vekic is sadly witnessing her opponents breaking down in the Olympic games. Before facing Coco Gauff, she faced an encounter with Canadian star Bianca Andreescu, but the match was not free from emotional happenings there as well.

In the second set of the game, when Vekic was leading 4-3, Andreescu hit herself on the thumb of her left hand with the racket, during a forehand shot. This left her in immense pain, with the Olympic debutant left in tears during the 10-minute break. This also impacted the Croatian star who said, “At first, I really thought she was going to give up. She screamed so much that I thought she was going to die, but she continued playing normally. I lost my concentration after that.”

As the tournament unfolds, the organizers must ensure to avoid more such incidents as was witnessed in Coco Gauff’s match. Will the umpire’s judgment improve? Well, only time will tell.