Coco Gauff Says Tennis Needs VAR System After Olympics Loss

Coco Gauff wants tennis to adopt a video assistant referee system like soccer.

Coco Gauff wants tennis to adopt a VAR system. / Amber Searls-USA TODAY Sports

We are only a few days into the 2024 Paris Olympics, and there has already been a major upset. On Tuesday morning, Donna Vekić defeated Coco Gauff in the third round of the women's singles tennis tournament.

The match was marred by an unfortunate exchange between Gauff and the umpire. The 20-year-old fought back tears when pleading her case, "This is not fair. You guys are not fair to me. I hope that one day the game becomes fair, but it's not."

Gauff was not done advocating for change after the match. Speaking with the press, Gauff advocated for tennis to adopt a VAR (video assistant referee) system similar to soccer.

🇭🇷 @DonnaVekic pulls off a big upset, defeating second seed Coco Gauff!#Paris2024 #Tennis pic.twitter.com/L2yh7o1r6o

— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) July 30, 2024

Gauff said, "There have been multiple times this year where that happened to me where I feel like I always have to be an advocate for myself on the court. I feel like in tennis, we should have a VAR system because these points are big deals. Usually, afterwards, they apologize. It's kind of frustrating when the sorry doesn't help you once the match is over."

While Gauff wants change in the sport, she took ownership of her loss. "I can't say I would have won the match if I would have won that point. But being down a break... Maybe replaying that point can make a big difference in that game."

She concluded, "But I'm not gonna sit here and say one point affected the result today because I was already on the losing side of things before that point happened."

While Gauff's quest for an individual gold medal is over, she still gets to play with Taylor Fritz in mixed doubles later today. Tennis fans can follow Sports Illustrated's Serve on SI for all the most important news from the sport and beyond.

Further Reading: Rafael Nadal voiced his displeasure with the Olympics' scheduling.