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Coco Gauff's coach Brad Gilbert has weighed in on Andrey Rublev's default controversy at the 2024 Dubai Tennis Championships.
Rublev took on Alexander Bublik in a closely contested semifinal clash at the ATP 500 event, with the two claiming a set apiece. During a tense deciding set, a crucial call went Bublik's way at 5-5, 40-30 on the Kazakh's serve.
Rublev, who was convinced that the call was incorrect, confronted the line umpire and unleashed a verbal outburst on his face. After an official reported that the 26-year-old had used an expletive in Russian, the tournament supervisor disqualified him from the tournament for unsportsmanlike conduct, despite the World No. 5's claim that he hadn't used any profanity and was speaking in English.
Gilbert shared his thoughts on the controversy, stating that while he doesn;t condone Andrey Rublev's behavior, the lack of electronic line calling was "absolutely ridiculous," given that it had caused issues during the WTA 1000 event in Dubai as well, particularly during Coco Gauff's third-round match.
"For the record i don’t condone what Rubles did to linesperson, even if didn’t swear at, that becomes judgement call for umpire that’s 50-50 default, my beef absolutely ridiculous to not have electronic court in Dubai same issue with women’s week before," he tweeted.
During her third-round clash against Karolina Pliskova in Dubai, Coco Gauff had a dispute with chair umpire Pierre Bacchi after he had called a 'fault' on her serve, which was later confirmed to be in by Hawk Eye.
Despite Pliskova's return landing in the net, Bacchi granted the American another first serve instead of awarding her the point, claiming that his incorrect 'fault' call had hindered Pliskova's return.
The 19-year-old then asked for Bacchi to summon the supervisor so she could clarify the rules. However, the chair umpire denied her repeated pleas until she was forced to resume play.
After a clip of the incident confirmed that Bacchi's call came after Pliskova's return, Gilbert had advocated for the inclusion of "incidental challenges" to address such situations.
"This is exactly why you should have incidental challenges," he posted on X.
Coco Gauff and Andrey Rublev feature in star-studded field at Indian Wells
Coco Gauff and Andrey Rublev will both be in action at the WTA 1000 and ATP Masters 1000 events in Indian Wells, commencing on March 6. The prestigious tournament is set to feature star-studded lineups on both the men's and women's sides.
Coco Gauff will be joined by the likes of World No. 1 and 2022 champion Iga Swiatek, last year's runner-up Aryna Sabalenka, defending champion Elena Rybakina and 2018 winner Naomi Osaka. Wildcard recipients Venus Williams, Caroline Wozniacki and Paula Badosa will also be in contention for the title.
On the men's side, Rafael Nadal will make his highly anticipated return to the tour at the Indian Wells Masters, with Novak Djokovic also making his first tour appearance since the Australian Open.
Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, World No. 3 Jannik Sinner and last year's runner-up Daniil Medvedev will also be in action.
