Coco Gauff calls for tennis replays after referee row

PARIS (AP) — Coco Gauff wasn’t thrilled with the chair umpire’s decision that went against her during Thursday’s French Open semifinal loss to Iga Świątek — and she or he made it clear to the official.

Gauff also believes it’s high time for tennis to maneuver into the twenty first century and, like many other sports, depend on video playback technology for all events.

“It’s almost ridiculous at this point that we don’t have it,” she said. “So many decisions were made and as a player it’s sad to go back or watch online and see you were absolutely right. And it’s like, What does that do for you at this point?”

The 20-year-old American, who won the US Open in September and won her first Grand Slam title, disagreed with the choice of referee Aurélie Tourte in the beginning of the second set, through which Świątek won 6-2, 6-4. Swiatek made a serve that was initially called around the identical time Gauff was swinging to return the ball, which resulted in failure. The message after the service itself was modified to “In” and Tourte awarded the purpose to Świątek; Gauff stated that this was unfair as she felt that the unique announcement of “Out” influenced her.

“I have the right to end my attack,” Gauff said.

Tourte’s response? “It had no effect on the shot,” she said.

Gauff then told Tourte that she was mistaken and “should be ashamed of herself.”

“It’s a Grand Slam semifinal,” Gauff told the official. “Learn the rules of the game.”

Tourte didn’t budge.

When the motion resumed, Gauff stepped back behind the baseline and wiped her eyes together with her wristbands.

“Every point counts against anyone, but especially against her. I think it was just one of those moments, but I overcame it. Of course I won the match,” Gauff said. “I don’t usually get too frustrated with decisions like this, but I think it was just a confluence of everything that was going on at the time.”

Gauff broke Świątek for the primary time within the match after which took a 3-1 lead within the set. However, Świątek would want five of her next six matches to achieve one other final at Roland Garros, where she is searching for her third consecutive trophy and fourth in five years.

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On the broader query of whether Tourte must have been able to envision some replay to search out out whether the road judge’s shouting actually influenced the situation, Gauff was in little doubt about her position.

“I think tennis is the only sport where not only do we not have a (video replay) system… (and) in other sports, the decision is usually made by multiple referees,” Gauff said, noting that the U.S. Open added replays for some calls in last 12 months. “I definitely think we’d like to evolve as a sport. And have technology. They show it on TV so I do not understand why the player cannot see it.

Świątek agreed with the fundamental premise, saying, “It would be easier to do a repeat,” but added, “I do not know what it could seem like logistically. When you may ask the referee to (show) the video replay or (if) it’s as much as her. Because I believe today’s judge was pretty confident in her decision.