“They do not want Black people” – Fans allege US Open of racist treatment towards Coco Gauff during her opening round win against Laura Siegemund in the first round
Coco Gauff beat Laura Siegemund 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 in Round 1 of the US Open.
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Coco Gauff confronts the referee (VIa Imago)
Coco Gauff defeated Germany’s Laura Siegemund in the first round of the US Open 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 with ease to qualify for Round 2. However, the match between them had its fair share of controversy, as both the crowd and Coco Gauff herself were irritated by how slowly Siegemund was playing. It eventually led to some fans on the internet alleging that Coco was subjected to racism.
Although her opponent had received a time violation once, Coco Gauff was highly dissatisfied with the wastage of time, and she was seen complaining about it to the referee. “She’s never ready when I’m serving; she went over the time like four times, and you gave her a time violation once. How is this fair?,” she said.
When the referee replied that Coco was playing at a very high speed, she rebutted, “I’m going at normal speed. Ask any ref here, I go at a medium pace.” She even went on to substantiate her point by saying how the crowd was irritated by this too. “Everybody in the crowd knows it,” Coco added.
Laura Siegemund, understandably, was highly upset by how the crowd treated her during and after the match. She said that although she’s often too slow, that is the way she plays, and being labeled as a ‘cheater’ for that is not justified. She even broke down in tears because of how she was treated by the crowd in the post-match interview.
Twitter reacts to ‘Racism’ against Coco Gauff in Round 1 of Laura Siegemund
Many fans labeled the referee’s not giving Laura Siegemund many time violations as racism. They said that Coco was not heard by the referee properly just because she was Black. “Serena and Venus had to deal with racism in the sport of tennis. And now this young girl, Coco, has to deal with it too. They do not want Black people in the sport,” wrote a particular fan. However, many have also opined that the referee was not in the wrong in that situation, and thus the allegations of racism are a bit unnecessary. Check out some of the reactions below.
Coco Gauff will now face Russian youngster Mirra Andreeva in the second round. 16-year-old Mirra is expected to give tough opposition to Coco Gauff, but the American remains the favorite.
In case you missed it:
- Nick Kyrgios has a strong reaction to Alexander Bublik’s abusive rant against Dominic Thiem at the US Open
- Aussie Rinky Hijikata’s opening-round win at the US Open dampened by deadly shooting at his girlfriend’s university in North Carolina
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Rishab Dutta
(794 Articles Published)