Hopes of a gold medal for Team USA are seemingly out of troubled waters at the Paris Olympics. And it’s not the medal many expected. The initial expectations for a medal were heavily focused on team leader Coco Gauff and her compatriots Jessica Pegula, Danielle Collins, and others. However, against all odds, their campaigns have been concluded before having a real shot at decorating their nation with laurels. Thankfully, despite such challenges, the country’s hopes at the Games haven’t been vanquished.

Sensational doubles duo Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram have served up impressive performances at the Olympic Games. With this, the talented pair have formally booked a spot in the men’s doubles summit clash, wherein their shot at clinching a doubles silver medal for the USA has been assured. Krajicek and Ram have been making waves in Paris for quite some time. However, the duo earned the recognition they deserved after downing two of the most formidable players on the circuit on Wednesday, July 31.

Krajicek and Ram breezed past Spanish talents Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz‘s challenge in the event’s quarterfinal round. Although they were the crowd favorite, dispatching the Spanish duo came as a surprise to fans, that too in straight sets! Subsequently, after Nadal and Alcaraz were shown the door by the American duo, they proceeded to down the Czech pair of Tomas Machac and Adam Pavlasek in the last four.

For the unversed, USA’s flag-bearer Coco Gauff crashed out of the quadrennial event in mere tears after she was thrashed by Donna Vekic in the third round. Notably, the duel was marred by controversy after the World No. 2 entered into a dispute with the chair umpire over a line call. Later, the 20-year-old demanded for a change in the sport’s umpiring system.

Coco Gauff calls for rule change following emotional Olympic exit

American talent Coco Gauff did not anticipate her Olympic bid ending this way. Honestly, no one did. On Tuesday, July 30, the World No. 1 was shown the door by Croatia’s Donna Vekic. However, her loss was not what scripted headlines. Instead, it was largely in part due to a controversial call made by chair umpire Jaume Campistol over a disputed line call. That moment, in turn, swung the momentum of the contest, leaving Gauff in tears.

Following the unfortunate incident, the reigning US Open champion attempted to lobby for change in umpire reviews. According to NBC’s Nicole Auerbach on X, the American called for a better replay system in the sport’s future. “I feel like in tennis, we should have a VAR system because these points are big deals. Usually, afterward, they apologize. It’s kind of frustrating when the sorry doesn’t help you once the match is over.”

Sadly for the World No. 2, her doubles campaign also came to a saddening end. The 20-year-old, along with compatriot Jessica Pegula were ousted by Czech’s power duo Linda Noskova and Karolína Muchova. Moreover, her mixed doubles run with partner Taylor Fritz was also concluded by Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski and Felix Auger-Aliassime.