A Grand Slam semifinal can often bring tensions to the surface, and that was shown when Coco Gauff complained about her opponent Martina Trevisan's grunting.
Despite still being just 18 years old, Gauff's incredible breakthrough at the age of 15 at Wimbledon in 2019 put additional pressure on her shoulders. That pressure has only built in the nearly three years since her run at Wimbledon.
As a result, a lot was on the line for Gauff in her maiden Grand Slam semifinal at Roland-Garros. She played excellently to beat Sloane Stephens in the last round, but the stakes were higher in the semifinal.
Trevisan's run to her first major semifinal also deserves praise. However, the Italian grunts extensively during her matches, which can often irritate opposing players who do not grunt.
Gauff is usually a player that avoids complaining to umpires about anything. However, after less than two games had been completed in the semifinal, the American spoke up about Trevisan's grunting.
As can be seen in the video below, Gauff approached the umpire after winning a point. Her issue was that Trevisan's grunting extended to when the American was trying to play her shot, rather than only being before
It is fair to say that Gauff does seem to have a point from the evidence in the video. Trevisan's grunt did clearly continue to when the American played her last shot in the rally, which could easily distract her.
In addition, Gauff also deserves credit for making her point calmly and not causing a scene. That demonstrates a maturity on her part.
Gauff's mentality was demonstrated throughout the rest of the semifinal. She went on to comfortably defeat Trevisan 6-3 6-1 after that, setting up a final with Iga Swiatek, who is on a 34-match winning streak.