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Coco Gauff’s father Corey expressed his pride and admiration for his daughter after she stood up for herself in an argument with the chair umpire during her third-round match against Karolina Pliskova at the 2024 Dubai Tennis Championships.
On Wednesday, February 21, Gauff found herself in a heated exchange with the chair umpire, Pierre Bacchi, during the second set. The disagreement arose when the American successfully challenged a fault serve that Pliskova was unable to return. Instead of awarding the point to the 19-year-old, the umpire decided that the "out" call had interfered with Pliskova’s shot, opting to replay the point.
Gauff was visibly upset by the decision and tried to reason with the umpire, who remained firm on his ruling. The 2023 US Open champion then asked to speak to the supervisor but was denied.
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Gauff, who had lost the first set, did not let the incident affect her performance and went on to win the match 2-6, 6-4, 6-3, to advance to the quarterfinals of the WTA 1000 tournament.
However, the incident did not go unnoticed by her father, Corey Gauff, who posted a video of the argument on his Instagram account, along with a heartfelt message praising his daughter for standing up for herself and fighting for fairness.
"So proud of my daughter. Standing up for yourself and fighting for fairness. You have the strength of your grandmothers who are 2 of the strongest women we know. While being passionate you remained respectful as you articulated your argument," he wrote.
The 52-year-old added that the scene was familiar to women and women of color who are "pleading and fighting to be treated fairly and respectfully by their male counterparts."
"The scene is so familiar to women and women of color pleading and fighting to be treated fairly and respectfully by their male counterparts. Your are an incredible example to women and your generation on what it means to fight and despite not getting the outcome you wanted you stood up for yourself and successfully moved on. You are becoming the young woman I prayed for God Bless you," he added.
Coco Gauff to face Anna Kalinskaya at the 2024 Dubai Tennis Championships QF
Coco Gauff will take on Anna Kalinskaya in the quarterfinals of the 2024 Dubai Tennis Championships on Thursday, February 22.
Gauff, current World No. 3 and third seed, has been in excellent form this season, winning her seventh career title in singles at the ASB Classic in Auckland and reaching her third Grand Slam semifinals at the Australian Open last month.
Kalinskaya, current World No. 40, came through the qualifying rounds and reached the quarterfinals without dropping a set. The Russian beat ninth seed Jelena Ostapenko, Cristina Bucsa, Storm Hunter, Kamilla Rakhimova, and Rebeka Masarova en route to the last eight.
This will be the first meeting between Coco Gauff and Anna Kalinskaya on the WTA tour. The winner will face either top seed Iga Swiatek or 2024 Australian Open runner-up Zheng Qinwen.
