Coco Gauff was eliminated from the singles competition at the Paris Olympics Monday morning ... but her match didn't come without controversy, as an argument with the chair umpire left her in tears.
After dropping the first set 7-6(7), the 20-year-old tennis star, tied up two games a piece in the 2nd set, and with the score tied 30-30, her opponent, Croatia's Donna Vekic, served the ball ... which a line judge said was out of bounds, awarding Gauff the point.
Huge argument in the Donna Vekic - Coco Gauff match. Umpire called the ball out before Gauff returned the ball and missed it in break point for Vekic. Ball was in. Coco Gauff crying and saying this always happens to me 😭 pic.twitter.com/Fv8zreC1hY
— edgeAI (@edgeaiofficial) July 30, 2024
However, the chair umpire -- Jaume Campistol -- declared the shot in ... and that set Gauff off.
The argument continued for several minutes before Gauff walked away to resume the match -- visibly upset from the call. The very next point went Gauff's way ... and the crowd made it known they were on her side, letting out a big cheer.
"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 told reporters afterward.
It's not the first time Gauff has had a problem with officiating at a tennis event in France. Last month, Coco was in a similar situation during her French Open semi-final matchup against Iga Swiatek.
Again, a chair umpire overruled a line judge on an out-of-bounds shot, giving Swiatek the point, leaving Coco again annoyed with a match official.
Coco Gauff is not happy with a decision from the umpire in her match against Swiatek
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) June 6, 2024
Iga hit a serve that was called out but the umpire overruled it.
Coco missed the return. Coco says she hit the ball after the line call was made.
The umpire disagrees.
The crowd boos.… pic.twitter.com/OzbIANQS7d
Luckily for the #2 ranked tennis player ... her Olympic run is far from over. She is set to return to the court later today in doubles competition -- so her podium dreams are still alive.