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American tennis star Coco Gauff laughed off speculation that she called Jelena Ostapenko a "cheater" in Wimbledon practice. In other news, Gael Monfils shared insights on juggling parenthood wife Elina Svitolina amid their Wimbledon campaigns.
Meanwhile, Boris Becker expressed frustration over the best-of-5 format debate at Wimbledon. Andrey Rublev wounded his knee with brutal racket smash during the Wimbledon opener.
Also, Tennis journalist Ben Rothenberg denied showing bias against Novak Djokovic after Andy Murray’s last-minute singles withdrawal from Wimbledon.
On that note, here's a recap of today's top tennis news:
Coco Gauff humorously explained 'cheaters' comment wasn't targeting Jelena Ostapenko
In the press conference following her 6-1, 6-2 victory over Caroline Dolehide in the Wimbledon opener, Coco Gauff spoke about some of her fellow players who tend to bend the rules a bit during practice sessions. Gauff humorously clarified that her "cheaters" comments weren't directed at Jelena Ostapenko, known for disliking electronic line calls and arguing with umpires.
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"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," Gauff said, laughing. "We were having a laugh out of that."
Interestingly, Gauff said the Latvian tennis star was one of her favorite practice partners because she saved her complaining for real 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. 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.
Second seed Coco Gauff will take on Anca Todoni in the second round on July 3.
Gael Monfils talked about juggling parenting with wife Elina Svitolina during Wimbledon
Gael Monfils discussed how he balances parenting his daughter Skai while supporting his wife, Elina Svitolina, during their campaigns at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships.
After his 6-4, 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 win over 22nd seed Adrian Mannarino in the first round, Monfils explained how he takes care of Skai while also cheering for his wife in her matches, stressing that he loves playing both roles.
"I love it to be honest. It's a good problem. We had huge help from all the moms, her mom, my mom. We have a nanny. Our daughter, she's lovely. I hope she understands we've been out for a couple of hours. So far, everything works. You have a little bit time with her and of course, time to support Elina," Monfils said in a Tennis Channel interview.
Gael Monfils advanced to the second round, where he will face Stan Wawrinka on July 3, while 21st seed Elina Svitolina will take on Magda Linette in the first round.
Boris Becker furious over tennis players being questioned over best-of-5 format at Wimbledon
Boris Becker was unhappy with Carlos Alcaraz and other players were being questioned about the best-of-five-sets format at the Wimbledon Championships.
During a post-match press conference following his 7-6, 7-5, 6-2 victory over Mark Lajal in the first round, the Spanish tennis star was asked if the format should change to best-of-three, to which he preferred the traditional five sets as it gave him more time to recover if he was behind.
Becker criticized journalists on X (formerly Twitter), comparing the questions to asking soccer players if they preferred shorter matches.
"Don’t really understand,why every player is asked same question…best of 5 is a must for GrandSlams !!! It’s like asking football players whether they prefer to play 45min instead of 90min ! Come on guys !" Borris Becker wrote.
Third seed Carlos Alcaraz advanced to the second round where he will face Aleksandar Vukic on July 3.
Andrey Rublev injures his knee with furious racket smash at Wimbledon
Andrey Rublev injured his knee by smashing his racket on it several times out of anger after making an unforced error during his 4-6, 7-5, 2-6, 6-7(5) loss to Francisco Comesana in the first round at the Wimbledon Championships.
Trailing 1-3, 30-40 in the third set, the Russian tennis star missed a backhand return, resulting in an unforced error. This led to him angrily smashing his racket on his left knee, causing it to bleed.
Watch the video here:
Tennis journalist defends himself from accusations of double standards against Novak Djokovic after Andy Murray’s withdrawal from Wimbledon
Tennis journalist Ben Rothenberg rejected claims of bias against Novak Djokovic following Andy Murray's last-minute withdrawal from Wimbledon. Murray pulled out of singles but remained in doubles with his brother Jamie. Rothenberg honored Murray on X (formerly Twitter) with a clip from his previous year's five-set match against Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Rothenberg faced criticism for his past stance on Djokovic's withdrawal from the 2022 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells due to being unvaccinated against COVID-19.
"Are you going to s*it on him [Andy Murray] for withdrawing the day of his match when he knew he wasnt fit to enter the draw, or is that treatment reserved for djokovic at uso," the user wrote on X.
Rothenberg defended himself, arguing Djokovic's situation was "profoundly unique" because of legal barriers preventing entry, unlike Murray, who withdrew after arriving and preparing for the tournament.
"People bring this up any time a player pulls out late, but no, Djokovic staying entered in the US Open (and Indian Wells earlier in 2022) when he wasn't legally allowed to enter the USA was a profoundly unique situation. Any player who was on site practicing doesn't compare," Rothenberg wrote.
Novak Djokovic kicked off his grass-court Grand Slam campaign with a 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 win over Vit Kopriva in the first round. The second-seeded Serb will now face Jacob Fearnley in the second round on July 4, with the winner facing either 30th seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry or Alexei Popyrin.
