WATCH: “Just give me a coaching violation” Dad’s clapping lands Coco Gauff in a coaching row, the American denies cheating
Follow Us
Coco Gauff and chair umpire Marijana Veljovic
World no. 18 Coco Gauff is back in Grand Slam action and has made a good start to her campaign at the 2022 French Open as she defeated qualifier Rebecca Marino currently ranked 115th in the world. Coco won the match 7-5, 6-0 in just 81 minutes to make it to the second round of the slam for the third year running.
After a difficult first set, Coco came out dominant in the second set dropping a bagel and wrapping up the second set in mere 25 minutes to start with a good match that turned into a comfortable victory towards the end. One incident however stood out during the match where Gauff’s maturity was on display.
With Gauff’s parents frequently touring with her for her matches, it was a similar case today with her father Corey Gauff, who is also her coach was in the stands. While the player’s box was at some distance, the constant cheering and clapping of hands was not taken well by chair umpire Marijana Veljovic who questioned the player giving a friendly warning for on-court coaching. Coco maintained a calm demeanour and informed the umpire that there was no coaching going on and her father’s cheering is out of her control.
“I literally tell him since I was 8 years old, don’t talk to me in the match. I know you’re not accusing me of anything, I’m just letting you know that it’s the first time a ref has said this to me. But we don’t have any signals. So I don’t understand what you want me to tell him. What do you want him to stop doing,” said Coco to the umpire who responded, “I’m not saying he’s coaching … If he does something with his hands, I may interpret it as coaching.”
“At that point, you can just give me a coaching violation, because I can’t control what he does with his hands,” retorted Gauff as both the player and the umpire exchanged smiles showing that no hostility developed between the two parties and all was well with Coco let go off with a reminder.
Coco Gauff to take on Alison Van Uytvanck in round 2
Gauff will now take on World No. 61 Alison Van Uytvanck in what will be their first-ever meeting. Alison had a lucky escape in round one as her opponent, Ann Li had to retire mid-match despite having won the first set and being a game up in the second set as well. Her retirement however pushes Alison into the second round for the meeting with Gauff.
Also Read: Watch: Novak Djokovic receives a special birthday surprise from the officials at Roland Garros
Follow our page FirstSportz Tennis for the latest updates
Stay Updated!
Sarthak Shitole
(3462 Articles Published)