Drama is rife at the Olympics. American WTA stars went into the battle with their heads held high but left with controversies surrounding them. Both Coco Gauff and Danielle Collins had some unsavory moments at the Games, which have seen intense backlash from fans. And now, they’ve attracted critiques from American analysts, too, as drama erupted for Collins during her recent showdown against World No. 1 Iga Swiatek.

The intensity reached its threshold during the Olympic quarterfinal showdown between world No. 1 Swiatek and Collins, who is on her way to retirement. Swiatek was leading 6-2, 1-6, 4-1 when Collins needed a medical timeout over an injured stomach muscle. After her withdrawal, Collins said she accused Swiatek of being “insincere” about her injury, which caused American sports commentator and former tennis player Mary Carillo to make her remark.

Commenting on the overall presence of American women at the Olympics, tennis analyst Carillo said, “These American women, I think they’re running a little wild at these Olympic Games.“ Carillo, known for her insightful commentary, has been a correspondent for NBC’s Olympic coverage for many years. She has covered 14 Olympic assignments overall, 11 of them with NBC.

To elaborate on Collins-Swiatek dynamics, the former was in a contentious position with the latter, who said she wanted to ask the American about her injury and congratulate her on her career. To which Collins replied, “There’s a lot that happens on camera. And there are a lot of people with a ton of charisma … (who) are one way on camera and another way in the locker room. I don’t need the fakeness”. The tension between the two players became mounted when Collins hit Swiatek with a backhand shot to the midsection. This brought the top seed to her knees and apparently did not end at that moment.

Collins expressed frustration with tournament officials as well for not providing adequate water on the court. She revealed that she suffered from heat stroke and body convulsions during her previous match against Camila Osorio. “It’s incredibly disappointing because you work so hard your whole life to make it to the Olympics, and this is my first and my last Olympics, and something like not having adequate water on court,“ she said.

The 30-year-old also claimed that this led to a pulled muscle in her stomach, which eventually forced her to retire from the quarterfinal. Although in a tough place, Collins did not find herself excused from the tennis world. Apart from Collins, three more American tennis women seemed to play wild at this year’s Olympics. 

Gauff’s first Olympic experience came to a premature end with losses in all three events she entered. The 20-year-old tennis sensation, who had been aiming for an Olympic medal, suffered a heartbreaking defeat in the women’s singles third round against Croatia’s Donna Vekic. Gauff’s doubles campaign also proved unsuccessful. Partnering with Jessica Pegula, who lost her second-round singles match on Monday, Coco was eliminated in the women’s doubles second round. Her Olympic journey concluded with a quarterfinal loss in the mixed doubles alongside Taylor Fritz.

Emma Navarro, one of the U.S. representatives in the women’s tennis competition at the 2024 Paris Olympics, was eliminated in the third round by China’s Qinwen Zheng. The latter emerged victorious in a hard-fought three-set match with a score of 6-7, 7-6, 6-1. Given the early elimination of all U.S. women’s singles tennis players from the Olympics, is Carillo’s assessment of their behavior accurate? Nevertheless, it wasn’t just Collins who faced criticism. The American flag bearer Coco Gauff was also under the radar.

Coco Gauff lashed out at the chair umpire

The American audience was expecting a lot from the US Open champion Gauff. While she recently proved her worth by winning her first doubles grand slam at the French Open, everyone believed that she could do it one more time. However, things took a completely unexpected turn during her singles showdown against Vekic.

One of the Croatian’s shots was called out by the line official, which evoked Gauff to hit the ball out. Although the decision was later reverted and the Croat was given the point, Gauff believed the point should be replayed as the call compromised her return. Despite several arguments with the chair umpire, the 20-year-old couldn’t find an aid, eventually breaking down in tears.

“There’s been multiple times this year where that’s happened to me — where I felt like I always have to be an advocate for myself on the court,“ Gauff said, reflecting on the unfair treatment she received at the Paris Olympics. While there was no decision taken against her, it was not just a hit on her dreams but also for the countless Americans who anticipated a medal.

The two shows did not go over well with tennis fans, and the two, combined with Emma Navarro, are catching immense flak. Their run in the Olympics has concluded as they have been eliminated from singles and doubles. The scenario does not paint a great picture for the US, and they will look for redemption when the American hard court swing commences.