"They are booing because you are wrong" - Coco Gauff in tears after heated argument with chair umpire in French Open SF vs Iga Swiatek
Coco Gauff got into a heated argument with the chair umpire during her semifinal clash against Iga Swiatek at the 2024 French Open on Thursday (June 6). The argument arose after a disputed line call from the chair umpire, which Gauff believed was disruptive to her play.
The opening set on the night between the World No. 1 and the World No. 3 went Swiatek's way, with the two-time defending champion taking the set 6-2 with a couple of breaks of serve. In the second set, Gauff led 2-1*, with Swiatek serving to stay on pace with the American.
At 0-15*, a serve from the Pole was called out by the linesperson, which the chair umpire overruled. Gauff's return, however, had hit the net in the meantime, leading to the point being awarded to Swiatek.
Coco Gauff did not think it was far, as she felt the call from the linesperson came before she swung her racquet, meaning the point should have been replayed. She walked over to the chair umpire to make her case, but in vain. At this point, the fans on Court Philippe-Chartrier started booing loudly, which Gauff pointed out to the chair umpire.
The 20-year-old further added that the fans were booing her for the call, and only because they knew she was wrong to not award the point to Gauff.
"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," Gauff said.
With the call not being retracted, Gauff walked back dejectedly to the baseline for the match to continue. The cameras also caught the American shedding tears while on her way back, a surprise reaction that took many fans on social media by surprise.
Iga Swiatek went on to lose the serve to fall behind at 1-3, but quickly broke back to restore parity at 3-3 in the second set. She then went on to break again to take a 5-3 lead before closing the set 6-4 to reach her third straight final at the French Open.
Winner between Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff to take on Mirra Andreeva or Jasmine Paolini in French Open 2024 final
Following her win over Coco Gauff, Iga Swiatek will take on either Mirra Andreeva or Jasmine Paolini in the final of the 2024 French Open on Saturday.
Both Paolini and Andreeva are surprise semifinalists at Roland Garros, and pulled off major upsets in the quarterfinals. While Paolini stunned former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina in three sets, Andreeva did the same against two-time Australian Open champion and current World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka.