"Awful, awful officiating": Chris Evert defends teary-eyed Coco Gauff amid heated dispute with umpire in French Open SF, asserts she would "never lie"
Chris Evert wasted no time in voicing her support for Coco Gauff after the 20-year-old got into a heated confrontation with the chair umpire over a controversial line call. The incident took place during Gauff's blockbuster semifinal clash against Iga Swiatek at the 2024 French Open.
Gauff's pursuit of her maiden Roland Garros title was halted by two-time defending champion Swiatek in the semifinals, as the Pole secured a commanding 6-2, 6-4 victory after a one-hour and 37-minute battle.
Despite the straightforward scoreline, the match was not without its fair share of drama. Tensions arose during the fourth game of the second set when a serve from the World No. 1 was called by the linesperson, only to be overturned by the chair umpire.
Since Gauff's return had hit the net, the umpire awarded the point to Swiatek, which was met with fierce objection from the third seed. The American engaged in a heated argument with the umpire, contending that the point should be replayed because the linesperson's call came before she hit the ball.
However, the umpire refused to budge, prompting Coco Gauff to criticize her understanding of the rules.
"Are you serious? They are booing you because you are wrong... This is the second time this has happened. It’s a Grand Slam semifinal. Know the rules of the game," Coco Gauff said.
The altercation evidently upset the 20-year-old, as she shed tears before regaining her composure to continue playing.
Chris Evert, who was providing commentary for Eurosport at the time, immediately threw her support behind the emotional Coco Gauff, firmly asserting that she would never lie to the umpire.
The 18-time Grand Slam champion also called out the umpire for the "awful officiating" on display, emphasizing that Gauff was absolutely in the right.
"She is right, by the way. Coco Gauff is right, absolutely. She would never, ever tell a lie to the umpire. She is crying. That is awful, awful officiating, the umpire's decision. She is saying that she had a play on it," Evert said.
"It's almost ridiculous that we don't have it" - Coco Gauff bemoans lack of video replay after dispute with umpire over controversial line call
Coco Gauff shared her thoughts on the controversial incident in her post-match press conference, expressing discontent with the lack of a comprehensive video replay system in tennis and asserting that the sport needs to evolve.
"I think tennis is the only sport where not only we don't have the VR system, but a lot of times the decisions are made by one person," Gauff said. "Yeah, I definitely think at this point it's almost ridiculous that we don't have it."
"I definitely think as a sport we have to evolve, and we have the technology. They're showing it on TV, so I don't get why the player can't see it," she added.
The 20-year-old also opened up about breaking down in tears on the court, emphasizing that every point mattered when competing against the likes of Iga Swiatek.
"I think it was just overwhelming of everything. Obviously, I am losing the match and when you're playing against her (Iga Swiatek), every play matters against anybody, but especially against her so I think it as just one of those moments," she said.
Following her win over Gauff, Swiatek will continue her quest for a third consecutive French Open title against Jasmine Paolini in a highly anticipated final.