Coco Gauff was defeated 7-6, 6-2 by 21st-ranked Croatian player Donna Vekic at the Paris Olympics. After Gauff became the youngest American woman since Venus Williams to win a singles match at the Olympics, she was caught in some controversy in the second set.
With Gauff down in the second set, Vekic hit a ball deep that was originally called out. Coco did not have time to recognize the call before she returned the ball. The chair umpire then overruled the call. Gauff pleaded with the umpire that the point should be replayed since the yelled call by the linesperson interrupted her while she swung. The second-ranked woman went on to have a lengthy argument with the chair umpire and got visibly angry and emotional.
Gauff was ultimately unsuccessful in pleading her case to the chair umpire and as that game was down 40-30, she lost that game. The 2023 US Open champion then lost all of the remaining games and was eliminated from the Olympic singles tournament.
The Controversial Line Call’s Impact
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While it is a bit silly to say that one point affected the rest of the set for Coco Gauff, it could be fair to say that any momentum she had was lost. Mentally, that call and exchange with the umpire could have been getting in her head just a little bit for the rest of the set, if not just the rest of the next game.
Tennis is a very mental game and an incident like that can decrease a player’s morale and confidence. Something that has happened off the court can very well impact a player’s performance on the court. It is also possible that other mental factors like the big stage of the Olympics got to Coco.
Coco Gauff Is Not A Stranger To Upsets
Despite currently being the second-ranked female player, Gauff has her ups and downs. She lost to fellow American and 19th-ranked player Emma Navarro 6-4, 6-3 in the Round of 16 at Wimbledon this year. The 19-year-old was also defeated by 23rd-ranked Caroline Garcia in the Miami Open 3-6, 6-1, 2-6, and she fell to 40th-ranked Anna Kalinskaya 6-2, 4-6, 2-6 in the quarterfinals of the Dubai tournament.
This type of play isn’t uncommon in the women’s game though. Other top players like Ons Jabeur have their patterns of inconsistency and bad losses. This isn’t to say that Gauff won’t return to the top again or be upset again.
Tennis is a tough game, especially since it’s just you out there. A match like this can be magnified in the eyes of the losing player and the media because it’s the Olympics and a top-ranked player lost early. Besides the chair umpire in a controversial match like this, a tennis player doesn’t have anyone to blame but themselves, but Gauff will just have to show up again to her next match, remember who she is, and play like she knows she can.
Donna Vekic’s Recent Play
But, let’s give credit to Donna Vekic as well. She’s been playing pretty solid recently. Outside of the Olympics, the Croatian player made it to the semifinals of Wimbledon this year, losing to Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 4-6, 6-7. This has been her best Grand Slam result to date.
Vekic’s other notable recent results include making it to the quarterfinals of the Dubai tournament losing to Sorana Cristea 6-3, 3-6, 5-7, being a finalist in the Bad Homburg Open in Germany where she lost to Diana Shnaider 3-6, 6-2, 3-6, and making it to the Round of 16 in the Ecotrans Ladies Open in Berlin. Vekic lost to 4th ranked Jessica Pegula 4-6, 5-7.
Vekic has won 71.7 percent of her first-serve points and has saved 54.7 percent of the break points she has faced in 2024, being solid in both serving and returning. She reached a career-high ranking of 19 in November 2019.
Gauff’s Thoughts After The Match
When asked about the controversial line call after the match, the American said,
“And I feel like in tennis, we should have a VR system because these points are big deals. Usually, afterwards, they apologize, so it’s kind of frustrating when the sorry doesn’t help you once the match is over.”
Nevertheless, Coco Gauff admitted that the controversial point in the second set didn’t decide the match,
“I’m not going to sit here and say one point affected the result today because I was already on the losing side of things before that point happened.”
In some matches, it’s just not her day, and this was an especially tough match with a bad controversy in the midst of it. The best thing to do is just move on.
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