Coco Gauff line call controversy at Paris 2024 shows tennis must make major change
“This is not fair. You guys are not fair to me. I hope that one day the game becomes fair, but it’s not.”
Those were the words of Coco Gauff – world No 2 and reigning US Open champion – after being dragged into a latest contentious line call controversy on Court Philippe Chatrier this summer.
In her Olympic women’s singles round three tie on Tuesday, the second seed was at a crucial juncture of her match against Donna Vekic – down a set, and facing break point.
The Croatian hit a shot that was called long and in response, Gauff sprayed a groundstroke out of court, but the decision was overturned by umpire Jaume Campistol – and with that went a break of serve
Gauff was left incensed on the court, claiming the line call came before she hit her shot and debated heavily with Campistol and the tournament supervisor, ultimately to no avail – and leaving her in tears.
“I never argue these calls. But he called it out before I hit the ball,” Gauff protested.
“It’s not even a perception; it’s the rules. I always have to advocate for myself.”
The US star never seemingly recovered from the incident and, despite holding three break points when play resumed, fell away in a 7-6(7), 6-2 triumph for her opponent.
A debate has raged since about whether Gauff or Campistol was right – but that misses the point.
Time for change
Ultimately, it doesn’t matter who was right or wrong in this situation; either way, it was difficult to watch – and is something that should be entirely avoidable.
Tennis was ahead of the curve when it came to sports using technology, implementing hawkeye well before football introduced VAR or goal-line technology.
Some events now use automatic line calling and that will become commonplace, but it is not always an option on clay.
Olympic Games News
The ex-tennis power couple targeting Paris 2024 gold – despite recent split
Rafael Nadal explains why he opted against following Novak Djokovic’s Olympic village decision
In any event still reliant on calls from line judges or the umpire, there needs to be a video replay system available for umpires and players to double-check decisions such as this.
Thousands of fans watching this contest across all corners of the globe could see the replay of the incident, making it baffling that Gauff, Campistol, and Vekic were unable to do so.
Replays suggest Gauff may have been wrong, and being able to see that clearly would have brought more clarity to the situation and could well have ended the debacle that ensued.
It is pretty immaterial whether she was wrong or right, though, as there is evident distrust from her and other players in similar situations.
The American was certainly in the right on the very same court during a similar situation in her French Open semi-final against Iga Swiatek back in June.
Gauff was again left in tears after a contentious call from Aurelie Tourte that day, and she is by far from the only player caught up in such a controversy.
Almost every player on the WTA and ATP has been caught up in such a saga at one point in their career – which is not acceptable on any level.
“I feel like in tennis, we should have a VAR system because these points are big deals,” said Gauff after the match.
“Usually, afterwards they apologize. It’s kind of frustrating when the sorry doesn’t help you once the match is over.”
She is correct, and it is beyond belief that tennis officials have not yet come to the same conclusion.
Read Next: Latest Paris 2024 tennis news and results: What you may have missed
