"People are going to think that's Jelena Ostapenko" - Coco Gauff hilariously clarifies as she talks about "cheaters" in practice at Wimbledon

Coco Gauff, competing at Wimbledon, recently made a revelation about her practice sessions. She also hilariously clarified that she wasn’t referring to Jelena Ostapenko when calling a few colleagues “cheaters.”

Gauff has advanced to the second round of the 2024 Wimbledon Championships. The World No. 2 secured an emphatic 6-1, 6-2 victory over her compatriot, Caroline Dolehide, in the opening round on Monday, July 1.

In the press conference that followed, a journalist who attended Coco Gauff’s pre-tournament practice sessions quizzed her about whether any of her colleagues ever “cheated” with the line calls during practice, leaving the American in splits. Gauff responded affirmatively.

"I’m not gonna say who, but we had a conversation about how some players on tour do like to call the lines a little bit too much in practice," she said, laughing. "We were having a laugh out of that."

Gauff also mentioned Jelena Ostapenko, who is widely known for her detestation for electronic line calling and is often unhappy with the umpire’s decisions. The American, however, revealed that Ostapenko is ironically one of her favorites to train with, hilariously adding that the Latvian restricts her complaints only to matches.

"It’s not anybody that you’d think. I know people are gonna probably think and say, ‘Oh, that maybe Ostapenko’ because she does that. But she’s actually one of my favorite people to practice with," Coco Gauff said.

"She’s just funny. I genuinely think she just sometimes thinks her ball is in but she doesn’t do it in practice. It’s definitely other people," she added.

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Coco Gauff: "A lot of times it's probably girls who maybe were cheaters in juniors"

Jelena Ostapenko (L) and Coco gauff pictured sharing a friendly hug at the 2023 US Open (Image Source: Getty)

Coco Gauff said she doesn’t take offense to the players who cheat during practice hits, but opined that there are a few athletes who potentially have a history of making false calls since juniors, when there were no line umpires.

"There are some girls - I don’t know if it’s intentional or not. For me I don’t really take any offense, because it’s not like a real match – what’s the point," she said in the aforementioned press conference.

"A lot of times it’s probably girls who maybe were cheaters in juniors and they just have that habit," she said, laughing.

Gauff added that she tries her best to avoid training with players who resort to unfair practices.

"Most of the time I try to practice with people who don’t do that just to save frustration," she noted. "I’m not gonna question the girl like, ‘Hey that was kind of in.’ I’ll just be like ‘whatever,’ and move on."

"For me, if it’s close, it can be in or out. But there are people who will deliberately call the ball that’s like inside of the line," the World No. 2 added.

Coco Gauff, one of the favorites to win Wimbledon, is chasing her second Grand Slam at the event after the 2023 US Open. The American has set up a clash with Romania’s Anca Todoni for a spot in the third round.