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We are midway through the tennis event at the 2024 Paris Olympics with three rounds of matches already over. Rafael Nadal, the Olympic gold medalist in singles in 2008, has bowed out of both the singles and doubles competitions. Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic, the top-seed in men's singles, has reached the quarterfinals.
A few Americans like Taylor Fritz are still in the fray and have kept the medal hopes of the nation alive. However, there have been some controversial moments involving some American athletes as well. Here is a look at three such American tennis players.
#3 Danielle Collins
Collins, the 30-year-old American who is going to retire at the end of this year, had a heated exchange with Iga Swiatek during their quarterfinals clash. Collins retired down 4-1 in the third set to hand Swiatek a place in the semifinal owing to dehydration and cramps.
She obliquely referred to Swiatek's "fakeness", saying:
"I told Iga she didn’t have to be insincere about, you know, my injury, There’s a lot that happens on camera, and there are a lot of people with a ton of charisma and come out and are one way on camera and another way in the locker room. And I just haven’t had the best experience, and I don’t really feel like anybody needs to be insincere. They can be the way that they are. I can accept that, and I don’t need the fakeness.”
#2 Emma Navarro
Emma Navarro lost in three sets to Qinwen Zheng of China, but then had an acrimonious exchange at the net, which neither of the players seemingly enjoyed.
Navarro said in an interview to New York Post:
"I just told her I didn’t respect her as a competitor, I think she goes about things in a pretty cut-throat way. It makes for a locker room that doesn’t have a lot of camaraderie, so it’s tough to face an opponent like that, who I really don’t respect.”
Navarro did not elaborate further on her remarks about Zheng.
#1 Coco Gauff
Gauff lost in her third-round match to Donna Vekic in straight sets. However, the match was marred by a controversial call by the umpire, Jaume Campistol.
Campistol overruled a crucial baseline-call to hand Vekic a break-point. Gauff argued with the umpire, who clmbed down to the court to make his point clear, which a teary-eyed Gauff hardly seemed satisfied with. She later told reporters:
"There’s 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.”
