Coco Gauff is savoring the taste of victory after a headline-making experience at the French Open.
The tennis player won her first major doubles title on Sunday, June 9, by teaming up with Katerina Siniakova. They defeated Italians Jasmine Paolini and Sara Errani, giving Gauff her second major after winning the U.S. Open singles last year.
“I think it’s just one of those things that when you least expect it to happen, it happens,” Gauff, 20, told reporters after the win, via the Associated Press. “After I lost the first two (doubles) finals, I thought, ‘Well, OK, I reached that point. Maybe I should focus on singles.’ Same thing, US Open. When I won it, I didn’t expect to win. I was having a really bad year. Then here, I didn’t even expect to play. I think it’s funny how life teaches you those lessons.”
Gauff’s journey to the top prize at the annual tournament wasn’t a seamless journey. During her semifinal match on Thursday, June 6, Gauff got into a heated dispute with chair umpire Aurélie Tourte when she overruled a call that benefitted competitor Iga Świątek.
After the disputed call, Gauff expressed her hopes that the sport she loves so much will implement a video review system to avoid more questionable calls.
“Tennis is the only sport where not only we don’t have the VR system, but a lot of times the decisions are made by one person,” she said after her match, per CNN. “In other sports, there are usually multiple refs making a decision. … I definitely think at this point, it’s almost ridiculous we don’t have it. Not just speaking because that happened to me, but I just think every sport has it.”
Gauff also expressed her opinion that “it sucks” watching a match back online and discovering “that you were completely right” about a missed call.
“In situations, you can call for the supervisor, but there’s not much they can do from that standpoint,” she added. “I definitely think as a sport we have to evolve and we have the technology. They’re showing it on TV, so I don’t get why the player can’t see it.”
While it’s unclear if the French Open and tennis as a whole will be making any changes, Gauff is already looking ahead to the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris where she will represent Team USA. Before she goes for gold, however, the athlete is savoring her latest career milestone.
“It’s been a fun two weeks here in Paris and I am so thankful to be able to finish it with a W!” Gauff wrote via Instagram on June 9. “Thanks everyone for all of the kind messages !!!”
