Olympic tennis fans rallied behind a teary-eyed Coco Gauff after a bad call led to heated exchange with umpire

Coco Gauff deserved better.

Coco Gauff lost to Donna Vekic in straight sets Tuesday morning, ending the U.S. flag-bearer’s Olympic singles run in the third round. Much earlier than expected.

Gauff was a big favorite entering the match at -714 at BetMGM, but the Croatian, Vekic, won a first-set tiebreaker before cruising to a 6-2 second set to pull off the upset and advance to the quarterfinals.

Her win didn’t come without a little controversy, though.

One point was awarded to Vekic on a return shot Gauff hit into the net after the chair umpire had already incorrectly ruled Vekic’s shot out. Though the ump corrected himself, he probably should have replayed the point after distracting Gauff’s shot. Instead, he simply gave it to Vekic, which broke Gauff’s serve and led to a heated argument that brought Gauff to tears.

Coco Gauff talking through tears as she's not happy with the umpire in her match at Olympics

Vekic’s ball was called out, but it was in, so the line judge corrected it.

Coco hit that ball into the net.

The umpire says it’s Donna’s point. He believes the 'out' call didn't… pic.twitter.com/VKoCV79bOT

— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) July 30, 2024

Gauff could be heard arguing how unfairly she was being treated, a familiar theme at Roland Garros where she had a similar experience last month in the French Open semifinals — a moment that led her to advocate for instant replay in tennis.

She again called for a replay system after the loss to Vekic.

Coco Gauff: “I feel like in tennis, we should have a VAR system because these points are big deals. Usually, afterwards they apologize. It’s kind of frustrating when the sorry doesn't help you once the match is over.”

— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) July 30, 2024

“I don’t think the ref disagreed,” Gauff said after the match. “I think he just thought it didn’t, like, affect my swing, which I felt like it did.”

Her loss hardly came down to one point, but tennis fans on social media agreed the ruling was egregious and rallied behind Gauff.

Social media reaction

WTF. @CocoGauff got TOTALLY SCREWED by the chair umpire. The linesman screamed “out” then correct the call, which distracted Coco.

The chair umpire *should* have replayed the (break) point, but instead gave it to Coco’s opponent. TERRIBLE CALL.#tennis #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/inmphxneE8

— Dena Grayson, MD, PhD (@DrDenaGrayson) July 30, 2024

This Coco Gauff situation is RIDICULOUS. I’m glad she called them out and I hope they understood what she was implying loud and clear about the unfair racism.

— Lady Eilonwy (@SirEilonwy) July 30, 2024

“I hope one day that the game becomes fair but it’s not.” Coco Gauff.
I’m mad for her.

— Saudade (@TinaThando) July 30, 2024

Yall poking fun at Coco Gauff crying but some people just get like that when the adrenaline is going. She got shafted by the refs on that call and stood her ground. Every point matters.

— The Broken Cradle (@thebrokencradle) July 30, 2024

Watching them try to cheat Coco Gauff again in France

— SMOOVE DA JUUGMAN (@SmooveJuug2Much) July 30, 2024

This is a tough scene for Coco Gauff. The chair has lost the plot.

— Rob Slater (@RobSlater10) July 30, 2024

Coco has every right to get emotional and advocate for herself. If it's that hot out I cry for no reason so an unfair call in the Olympics would be more than enough Go @CocoGauff !!! #Paris2024

— Rach (@rachtweets3) July 30, 2024