Coco Gauff broke down crying at French Open after getting into tense argument with umpire before frustrating loss

Coco Gauff broke down in tears during a tense French Open moment at last year’s tournament.  Attempting to advance to the 2024 women’s finals, Gauff challenged a controversial call while playing No. 1 seed Iga Swiatek.  Swiatek took the first set, 6-2.  Knowing that she needed to rally in the second set, Gauff dug in and played more aggressive.  The No. 3 seed held a 2-1 lead in the second when play abruptly stopped.  “Coco Gauff is not happy,” an announcer said. “Neither are the crowd.”

Gauff challenged a call and confronted the chair ump on the court.  “They’re booing because they know you are wrong,” Gauff said.  She added: “Are you serious?”  As the crowd booed in the background, Gauff began crying.

She was forced to dry her eyes and take a moment to calm down

The American star then backed away from the conversation with the umpire and kept crying, before drying her eyes.  “Wow terrible call,” one fan tweeted. “Zero excuse when on video. So argumentative and often terrible calls. When is this going to stop?”  Gauff won the game to take a 3-1 lead in the second set and suddenly had the Roland Garros crowd in her corner.

While TV announcers discussed the “emotional aspect” of tennis and sports psychologists, Gauff was shown coldly staring straight ahead while sitting down.  But Swiatek battled back to move ahead 5-3 in the second set.  The Polish star finished it off to 6-4 to end Gauff’s Roland Garros run.  Gauff quickly walked off the court after the loss.  “She is progressing a lot,” Swiatek said. “I’m sure we’re going to have plenty more matches at a high level.”

Gauff became highly emotional in 2022 when she almost won the French Open as an 18-year-old.  Wowing Paris fans with her power and precision on the clay courts, Gauff ended up just two sets away from becoming a French Open champion.  “This is the first time for me, so let’s try to get through this,” an emotional Gauff said in the aftermath.  As she spoke, the young American was overwhelmed by the power of the moment.

With fans standing and applauding inside the venue, Gauff paid tribute to Swiatek and joked that she hoped to one day end as a winner when playing the game’s No. 1. “What you’ve done on tour the past couple months have truly been amazing and you totally deserve it,” Gauff told Poland’s superstar. “Hopefully we can play each other in more finals.”  As Gauff referenced her supporters, tears began to flow.

Gauff turned her head and wiped her eyes while holding a microphone, then publicly praised all those who helped her reach the finals at 18.  She made amends in the women’s doubles final alongside partner Katerina Siniaková, lifting her first Grand Slam tournament doubles trophy after defeating 11th seeds Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini.  Gauff grew up admiring Serena Williams and had a poster of the tennis legend on her wall.

After a tough start to 2025, the world No.2 began her French Open singles campaign on Tuesday against Australian Olivia Gadecki.  She was in scintillating form and reeled off a straightforward 6-2, 6-2 victory.  Afterwards, she posted a joke ‘to do’ list ahead of this year’s French Open first round.  She put a tick next to tie shoes, pack clothes, and arrange fruit salad, however, ‘put tennis rackets in bag’ remained unticked.  ‘oops, forgot the last one,” she captioned the post.  Gauff will now face Czech Tereza Valentova in Thursday’s second round.