Coco Gauff doubles down after heated US Open row with umpire and opponent

29 August 2023 , 15:50

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Coco Gauff came through a tough match at the US Open in which she was left frustrated by her opponent's antics

Coco Gauff wished she had spoken to the umpire sooner about her opponent’s time-wasting at the US Open.

The sixth seed came through a difficult first-round match against Germany’s Laura Siegmund, but it was more challenging due to some unsavoury tactics from her opponent. The 35-year-old committed several serve clock violations and failed to play to Gauff’s speed when the American was serving on numerous occasions during the third set.

In addition to a seven-minute bathroom break, a frustrated Gauff grew tired of Siegmund’s ploys to disrupt her rhythm. Midway through the third set, she was very straightforward about the amount of time her opponent was taking while speaking to chair umpire Marijana Veljovic. In her post-match press conference, the teenager stood by her comments during the match and had no regrets - instead insisting she wishes she had acted sooner.

“If I could do it all over again, I would’ve said something earlier, maybe on a changeover,” Gauff said. “Other than that I don’t regret talking to the ref the way I did.

"I actually watched the video when I was taking an ice bath because I wanted to make sure before I came in here. Sometimes you have these emotions & you forget what you said. I’d still say everything I said in that moment again.”

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When Gauff was leading the third and deciding set 3-0 with the score locked at deuce, Siegemund put her arms in the air to signal she wasn’t ready. This prompted the Cincinnati Open champion to say to the umpire: “She’s never ready when I’m serving, she went over to talk like four times, you only gave her a time violation once, how is this fair?

“No, you’re calling the score after the point is over, it’s not like we’re playing long points. You’re calling the score like six seconds after the point is over! You have missed her like four times. She’s never ready! It’s not like we’re having, like 30-ball rallies. It’s two balls…I’m going at a normal speed! Ask any ref here, I go at a medium-pace speed,” Gauff continued.

“She can’t [go back] every single point. And everybody in this crowd knows I’ve been quiet this whole match…That first set, it was like every point.

"I didn’t say nothing, but now it’s ridiculous. I don’t care what she’s putting on her serves, on my serves she has to be ready.”

The Arthur Ashe stadium crowd applauded Gauff for voicing her grievances with the umpire and the majority of the audience roared with delight when Gauff prevailed 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 to book her spot in the second round against Mirra Andreeva.

Coco Gauff doubles down after heated US Open row with umpire and opponent

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - AUGUST 28: Coco Gauff of the United States speaks to the chair umpire after a point against Laura Siegemund of Germany during their Women's Singles First Round match on Day One of the 2023 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 28, 2023 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

During the match, Siegemund was handed a point penalty after walking off to get her towel and complained Gauff was serving too fast. In her post-match interview she joked her opponent was slow but afterward told reporters she tried to maintain her composure throughout the match.

“I was really patient the whole match. She was going over the time since the first set. I never said anything. I would look at the umpire, and she didn't do anything," Gauff added. “On her serve, even though you're supposed to be on the time, I was being nice. My team told me I should have spoke up earlier. But then it got to the point where she was doing it a lot on my serve.

“My issue with that was the ref was calling the score like a couple seconds after the point was finished, so it made it look like I was serving abnormally fast.”

After the match, Siegmund claimed she felt disrespected by the crowd, who were not happy with the extra time she was taking in between points. “I won here two times [in doubles and mixed doubles], every minute of every game I’ve played here, [I leave] everything out on the court and this is how they treat me?”, Siegemund said.

"In a match like that? Full stadium. Against Coco, who won two tournaments recently. And that’s the kind of performance I play? That’s why I play tennis. But to be treated like that. I mean, I would only come back because this is a Slam. But for sure, not for the people, to give them a show. If they are like this, they don’t deserve a show.”