Coco Gauff Freaks Out On Umpire, Cries After Losing Olympic Match To Donna Vekic

American tennis star Coco Gauff entered the 2024 Summer Olympics with her sights set squarely on winning a gold medal in singles. 

Those dreams came crashing down after an upset loss against Donna Vekic on Tuesday. 

The United States had high hopes for Gauff, as well, tabbing her as one of the country's flag-bearers during the Opening Ceremony – alongside basketball superstar LeBron James. 

But Gauff, who has only once reached the final of the French Open, continued to struggle in Paris on the clay surface. 

Not only did Gauff lose the match, but she lost control of her emotions, too. 

United States tennis star Coco Gauff gets into it with officials during a ladies' singles match against Donna Vekic during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

(Patricia DE MELO MOREIRA / AFP)

During a crucial point in the second set, Vekic hit a shot that appeared to graze the back line and Gauff's return missed her opponent's side. 

The controversy is that the line judge ruled Vekic's shot "out." Then, upon checking the ball mark on the court – Roland Garros is the only tennis venue that doesn't use technology reviews – the umpire ruled that Vekic's shot was "in." 

Gauff argued that the line judge yelled "out" while she was hitting, which caused her to miss. But the umpire ruled that the call came after Gauff hit, so Vekic was awarded the point. If the umpire ruled that the "out" call came before Gauff hit, the pair would have replayed the point. 

That's when Gauff got into it with officials. 

It does seem as if Gauff was actually wrong; the ball was in and the line judge didn't seem to yell "out" until after Gauff hit her return. Clearly, she was frustrated by the direction of the match. 

She had already lost the first set and trailed in the second set. 

Vekic went on to break Gauff during that game and the emotional Gauff never recovered, losing in straight sets. 

It's a tough loss for Gauff, who failed to reach the quarterfinals in singles after becoming the first tennis player – and youngest athlete ever – to carry the American flag during the Opening Ceremony. 

But Gauff's Olympic run is not completely done. She's competing in both ladies' doubles (with Jess Pegula) and mixed doubles (with Taylor Fritz). 

Both teams are still alive and chasing a gold medal for the Red, White and Blue.