Coco Gauff clashed with umpire Pierre Bacchi during her match at the 2024 Dubai Championships, and she received a lot of support after it happened.
Gauff secured a quarter-final of the Dubai Championships by beating Karolina Pliskova in three sets. That in itself wasn't the story of the match, which is unfortunate, but also mirrors the extent of the incident.
Generally, you'd prefer tennis to do the talking about a match, but it was actually an exchange with the umpire. Gauff was furious because she was certain that the umpire had made a mistake, but he wouldn't let her talk to the supervisor.
It was a weird situation that only resolved after Gauff abandoned her demands about four minutes after the two started to argue. The exchange went viral, with many backing Gauff and calling the umpire out on his behavior.
Besides dozens of fans backing the American, she was also backed by her coach, Brad Gilbert, who was pretty harsh in his criticism. Serena Williams' former coach, Rennae Stubbs, was also on her side.
"The umpire is correct in saying it’s a judgement call & his to make. The other correct thing is Coco has EVERY RIGHT to ask for the super visor & he should have called her & the supervisor should have then come out to explain that she can’t change the decision. BS from him & rude."
Another one who was quite fierce in the criticism of the umpire was Andy Roddick, who didn't hold back in his post on X. The American called it absurd.
"This is an absurd exchange for this umpire. 1. He’s completely wrong 2. He’s lying about being wrong. 3. She must have simply said 10 plus times, I’d like the supervisor. That’s not a judgement call. He simply needed to honor that normal request and call the supervisor."
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