What happened between Coco Gauff and Donna Vekic at the Paris Olympic Games?

What was the ruling that caused Coco Gauff’s loss against Donna Vekic?

When the line judge called Vekic’s ball «out,» it would normally signify that Vekic’s shot landed outside of the tennis court and was, therefore, a fault. In normal circumstances, the rally would end and the point would be awarded to Gauff.

But the chair umpire quickly overruled the line umpire’s «out’ call, and shouted, «Correction.» Thus, Vekic’s shot that was previously called out was still considered in play, and Gauff’s return after was considered a fault. As a result, Vekic won the rally and point.

Can a chair umpire overrule a line judge?

Section D of the ITF handbook states that, in the event that a line umpire makes a «clear mistake» in calling a play, a chair umpire may overrule the call if the overrule is made «promptly» after the mistake and the overrule follows other ITF procedures outlined in the handbook.

This rule would validate the overrule made following Gauff’s hit.

What is the difference between a chair umpire and a line judge?

A line umpire is responsible for calling whether or not a ball bounces out of the court during match play, signifying a fault.

A chair umpire manages and oversees a match’s administration and organization.

The ITF Paris Olympic Games official Duties for Officials guide outlines some of the responsibilities of the chair umpire, including:

• executing the pre-match coin toss
• keeping match time, time to serve, time between changeovers
• announcing the score after each point
• ensure that the rules are observed by the players and all on-court officials

Ultimately, in a tennis match, there is a hierarchy to the officials. The line judges report to the chair umpire, and the chair umpire oversees and manages the line umpires.

What is a video review in tennis?

A video review in tennis is a relatively new system that is currently used in the U.S. Open and allows umpires to replay a point to review whether a correct official call was made, similar to a replay in baseball. As of now, only the U.S. Open uses this system in its tournament.

The Australian Open and Wimbledon use an electronic line calling system.

The French Open is the only Grand Slam that still entirely relies on line judges to make calls.

What happened to Coco Gauff at the French Open?

In Gauff’s 2026 French Open semifinal match against Iga Swiatek, she also had another call correction debate.

In the second set, Swiatek hit a serve that was called out. As the ball was being called out, Gauff went to strike the ball, the timing of the call coinciding with Gauff’s hit, and Gauff returned the serve out.

Chair umpire Aurélie Tourte’s reversed the out call against Swiatek and awarded the serve point to the Polish powerhouse. Gauff argued that it was unfair because the out call impacted her stroke.

“At this point, it’s almost ridiculous that we don’t have ,” Gauff told the press after the match. “There are so many decisions that are made, and it sucks as a player to go back or [watch] online, and you see that you were completely right. And it’s, like: What does that give you in that moment?”

What happened to Coco Gauff in Dubai?

Coco Gauff got into a similar argument with a chair umpire in the third round of the 2026 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships in February.

Again in the second set, Gauff was on service, but this time with a 4-2 lead. On her second serve, launched at deuce, the attending line umpire called the attempt out after her opponent, Czechia’s Karolina Pliskova, returned the serve. Gauff successfully challenged the call, but upon being asked to replay the point, she initiated an argument that lasted for five minutes, going so far as to ask to speak to the tournament supervisor.

«You called it out after she hit it,» Gauff insisted. «Can you not cut me off for two seconds?»

Gauff returned to the court following the incident and won the match 2-6, 6-4, 6-3, thus advancing to the quarterfinals.

Will Coco Gauff be competing in other Olympic events?

Coco Gauff is also competing in both the women’s doubles and mixed doubles tournaments with Jessica Pegula and Taylor Fritz, respectively.