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Coco Gauff was reduced to tears after the chair umpire's controversial call during her third-round loss at the 2024 Paris Olympics. In other news, Jessica Pegula endorsed compatriot Danielle Collins' decision to retire on her terms.
Meanwhile, Nick Kyrgios expressed solidarity with Novak Djokovic amid backlash over a gesture following Paris Olympics second-round win over Rafael Nadal. Emma Navarro slammed Zheng Qinwen following a tense Paris Olympics third-round clash.
On that note, here's a recap of today's top tennis news:
Coco Gauff in tears after chair umpire's controversial call in Paris Olympics 3R loss
Coco Gauff shed tears while confronting the chair umpire over a disputed line call during her 6-7(7), 2-6 loss to Croatia’s Donna Vekic in the third round at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
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In the second set, Vekic's shot was initially called out, but Gauff missed her return. The call was later corrected, awarding the point to Vekic. The American argued the point should be replayed, but the chair umpire refused.
"I feel like I'm getting cheated constantly in this game. This is the 3rd time this happens to me this year," Coco Gauff said.
Accusing the umpire of 'cheating,' Gauff demanded the tournament supervisor be called, but the decision remained unchanged.
"It always happens to me on this court," Gauff said. "Call the supervisor. It always happens to me, every time. You understand that I always have to advocate for myself, all the time."
Coco Gauff is still active in women's and mixed doubles events with Jessica Pegula and Taylor Fritz, respectively. Gauff and Pegula will take on Czech Republic's Linda Noskova and Karolina Muchova in the second round, while she and Fritz will face Canadian duo Gabriela Dabrowski and Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarterfinals on July 31.
Jessica Pegula supports Danielle Collins' choice to retire on her own terms
Jessica Pegula expressed her love and support for Danielle Collins after the latter discussed her decision to retire while still competing at a high level.
In a recent ESPN interview, Collins explained that retiring felt "empowering" because she was choosing to leave on her terms, rather than due to injury or declining performance.
"I want to go out really playing on a high level, and I want people to remember me for the tennis that I was playing. Some players are almost forced into retirement, due to an injury and then falling out of the top 100, and that defines the end of their career," Danielle Collins said.
"This has been really empowering in the way that I've been able to make the decision to retire on my own terms and have the ability to choose. I could choose to continue to play but I'm choosing to retire," she added.
Pegula expressed support by sending love to her compatriot.
"We love you DC @danimalcollins 🙌," Pegula posted on her Instagram story.
Jessica Pegula's singles campaign in the Paris Olympics came to an end in the second round, where she lost to Ukraine's Elina Svitolina 4-6, 6-1, 6-3. Danielle Collins, on the other hand, reached the singles quarterfinal, where she will take on top seed Iga Swiatek on July 31.
Additionally, Collins, along with partner Desirae Krawczyk, will take on the Ukranian duo of Lyudmyla and Nadiia Kichenok.
Nick Kyrgios defends Novak Djokovic amidst outcry over 'appalling' gesture after 2R win over Rafael Nadal at Paris Olympics
Nick Kyrgios supported Novak Djokovic despite criticism over the Serb’s gesture towards longtime rival Rafael Nadal at the Paris Olympics.
Djokovic breezed past Nadal 6-1, 6-4 in the second round to eliminate the Spaniard from the singles event. Following his victory, a fired-up Djokovic gestured to the crowd with his ear. Tennis fans on social media had mixed reactions to Djokovic’s gesture, with some fans slamming the Serb’s behavior.
Nick Kyrgios entered the fray with a firm response in the Serb’s defense when a fan blasted Djokovic’s gesture on X (formerly Twitter).
"Is there a single non-Serbian tennis fan who even likes this guy? His on court behaviour is absolutely appalling and I could never understand how someone could possibly support this piece of trash," a user wrote.
"I do," Kyrgios replied.
Top seed Novak Djokovic will take on Germany's Dominik Koepfer in the Round of 16 on July 31.
Emma Navarro hits out at Zheng Qinwen after heated Paris Olympics 3R battle
Emma Navarro vented at Zheng Qinwen following her 7-6(7), 6-7(4), 1-6 third-round loss at the 2024 Paris Olympics. After the match, Navarro revealed she told Zheng she didn't respect her as a competitor, describing the latter as very "cut-throat".
Despite her frustration, Navarro congratulated Zheng on her win and acknowledged her superior play.
"I just told her [Zheng Qinwen] I didn't respect her as a competitor. I think she goes about things in a pretty cut-throat way. It makes for a locker room that doesn't have a lot of camaraderie, so it's tough to face an opponent like that, who I really don't respect," Navarro said [via Yahoo Sport].
"But, kudos to her, she played some good tennis there at the end. She played better than me, so congrats to her," she added.
Zheng Qinwen replied that if Navarro had a problem with her conduct, she could have talked to her about it so that she could grow and improve.
"She [Emma Navarro] told me she doesn't know how I have a lot of fans. It looks like she's not happy with my behavior towards her. If she's not happy about my behavior, she can come and tell me. I would like to correct it to become a better player and a better person. I'm glad that she told me that. I will not consider it an attack because she lost the match," Zheng said.
Sixth seed Zheng Qinwen will take on Germany's Angelique Kerber in the quarterfinals on July 31.
