Coco Gauff of the United States lost 6-7, 2-6 to Croatia’s Donna Vekic in the Olympic women’s singles tournament, but the match was overshadowed by a controversial line call decision in the second set as Gauff was trying to stage a comeback.
The dispute led to an argument of several minutes during which Gauff said repeatedly that the point should have been replayed. “You have to understand this is not fair,” she said on the court before the match resumed.
Here’s what happened, the rules surrounding the incident, and why Gauff was so frustrated by the official decision.
What happened?
At 2-3, 30-40, Vekic returned a second serve from Gauff.
She caught the ball slightly off-center, causing it to loop back deep into the center of the court, pushing Gauff back behind the baseline. Gauff set up in her full forehand ready position, able to prepare fully because of the speed of the ball.
As the ball bounced, extremely close to the line, a linesperson called Vekic’s shot out as Gauff swung into the forehand.
Gauff then pulled up on her follow-through, sending the ball into the net.
Immediately after the call, the linesperson said “correction,” which is the word umpires use to overrule a call. This meant he judged the ball from Vekic to be in, and chair umpire Jaume Campistol…
