Coco Gauff Sheds Tears During Paris Olympics Performance

Coco Gauff’s bid for a singles gold medal ended earlier than expected Tuesday, with the second-seeded American losing to Croatia’s Donna Vekic 7-6, 6-2 in the third round at the Paris Olympics.

Gauff, ranked second in the world, led 4-1 in the opening set but could not overcome a spirited comeback by the 21st-ranked Vekic, who erased two set points en route to winning 9-7 in the tiebreaker. Vekic dominated from there, registering 33 winners to Gauff’s nine.

A flustered Gauff had her frustrations boil over in the second set.

While serving down 3-2, Gauff thought she had won a point on Vekic’s long return when the shot was called out. However, chair umpire Jaume Campistol overruled the line judge to give Vekic the game and a 4-2 second-set lead.

Gauff walked over to Campistol to dispute the decision. The prolonged protest resulted without a call reversal but with tears streaming down the 2023 U.S. Open champion’s face.

“I feel like I’m getting cheated on constantly in this game. … It happens to me. It happened to Serena (Williams),” Gauff told the chair umpire.

“It always happens to me on this court,” added Gauff, who then turned away unable to hide her tears.

This year alone, Roland Garros hasn’t been much fun for Gauff. At last month’s French Open, she argued about a line call during her semifinal loss to eventual champion Iga Swiatek and criticized the tournament’s refusal to include video review.

Sometimes the emotion of representing your country at the Olympics can become overwhelming. Sometimes tennis players struggling with their games can be set off by one frustrating moment. The culmination of both proved to be overwhelming for America’s top women’s tennis player on Tuesday.