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Novak Djokovic slammed for his ear gesture to Rafael Nadal’s supporters after beating the Spaniard in the Paris Olympics second round. In other news, Coco Gauff, Danielle Collins, and Emma Navarro came under fire for their behavior at the Paris Olympics.
Meanwhile, Christopher Eubanks and Alexander Bublik condemned the chair umpire's call to disqualify Denis Shapovalov from the Citi Open quarterfinal for swearing at a spectator. Chris Evert and Andy Murray's mother Judy faced backlash for their comments on controversial Algerian boxer Imane Khelif during the Paris Olympics.
Also, Novak Djokovic drew criticism for following controversial social media influencer Andrew Tate.
On that note, here's a recap of the top controversies from last week:
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Novak Djokovic faced criticism for controversial gesture against Rafael Nadal in Paris Olympics 2R victory
Novak Djokovic came under fire for a controversial gesture directed at his longtime rival, Rafael Nadal, after his 6-1, 6-4 victory in their men's singles second-round match at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
After his victory, an animated Djokovic turned to a quieted group of Nadal's fans in the stands, pointing to his ear, seemingly indicating he couldn't hear them.
Watch the video here:
Top seed Novak Djokovic cruised past Dominik Koepfer, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Lorenzo Musetti en route to the final, where he defeated second seed Carlos Alcaraz 7-6(3), 7-6(2) to win his elusive gold medal.
American WTA players Coco Gauff, Danielle Collins, and Emma Navarro faced backlash for their Paris Olympics conduct
Danielle Collins faced criticism for her prolonged exchange with eventual bronze medalist Iga Swiatek after retiring from their 2024 Paris Olympics quarterfinal match.
Swiatek dominated the first set 6-1, but Collins rebounded to take the second set 6-2. During the decider, Collins hit a powerful backhand that struck Swiatek, who fell to the ground. Despite showing sportsmanship by checking on Swiatek, Collins eventually retired at 4-1 due to injury and engaged in a prolonged conversation with Swiatek, leaving her puzzled.
Watch the video here:
Emma Navarro faced backlash for her harsh comments to the eventual gold medalist Zheng Qinwen after losing 7-6(7), 6-7(4), 1-6 in the third round at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Following a heated post-match handshake, Navarro admitted she told Zheng she didn't respect her as a competitor. While crediting Zheng for her win, Navarro criticized her "cut-throat" approach.
"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," Emma Navarro said (via Yahoo Sport).
"But, kudos to her, she played some good tennis there at the end. She played better than me, so congrats to her," she added.
Zheng responded calmly, stating she welcomed feedback to improve as a player and person.
"She told me she doesn't know how I have a lot of fans. It looks like she's not happy with my behaviour towards her. If she's not happy about my behaviour, she can come and tell me. I would like to correct it to become a better player and a better person. I'm glad that she told me that. I will not consider it an attack because she lost the match," she said.
Coco Gauff tearfully confronted chair umpire Jaume Campistol over a disputed line call during her 6-7(7), 2-6 loss to eventual silver medalist Donna Vekic in the third round at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
In the second set, a shot by Vekic was initially called out but later corrected, awarding the point to the Croat. Gauff argued the point should be replayed, accused the umpire of "cheating," and demanded the tournament supervisor, but the decision stood.
" I feel like I'm getting cheated constantly in this game. This is the 3rd time this happens to me this year," Coco Gauff said.
"It always happens to me on this court," Gauff said. "Call the supervisor. It always happens to me, every time. You understand that I always have to advocate for myself, all the time."
Christopher Eubanks and Alexander Bublik slammed the chair umpire for disqualifying Denis Shapovalov for cursing at a spectator in the Citi Open QF
Christopher Eubanks and Alexander Bublik shared their thoughts on Denis Shapovalov's disqualification during his 2024 Mubadala Citi DC Open quarterfinal against eventual runner-up Ben Shelton, which resulted in a walkover victory for the American with scores of 7-6(5), 6-6(3).
Shapovalov, who had already received a code violation for racquet abuse, hurled his racket to the floor once more and verbally confronted a heckling fan in the second set. The umpire disqualified Shapovalov for unsportsmanlike conduct, despite Shelton's attempts to intervene.
Alexander Bublik and Christopher Eubanks took to X (formerly Twitter) to express their dissatisfaction with the incident. Eubanks questioned what could be said to a spectator to warrant a default.
“I’m curious what you can possibly say to a spectator that’ll get you defaulted,” Christopher Eubanks said.
At the same time, Bublik criticized the ATP's decision, sarcastically suggesting that players might be defaulted for merely looking at spectators in the future.
“We back to complete nonsense again? @atptour. Next time we going to get defaulted because we looked at the spectator the "wrong way" but they can do and say whatever they want?” Bublik said.
Chris Evert and Judy Murray landed in hot water for their remarks on boxer Imane Khelif amid Paris Olympics controversy
Chris Evert and Judy Murray faced backlash for their comments on the controversial boxer Imane Khelif from Algeria amid the Paris Olympics controversy. Khelif was the target of relentless hate after it was disclosed she had failed a gender test and her first-round rival Angela Carini quit after 46 seconds into the match, blaming the force of her punches.
Rumors spread that Khelif was a transgender athlete, but it was later revealed that Khelif has DSD (Differences of Sexual Development), which naturally increases her testosterone levels and was the reason for the IOC clearing her participation.
Andy Murray's mother Judy took to X (formerly Twitter) and posted an update from a prominent sports journalist showing the referee declaring Khelif the winner while Carini looked hurt and dejected. Judy argued that the match shouldn’t have been permitted and demanded swab tests be reinstated for the benefit of women’s sports.
"This should never have been allowed to happen. Bring back the swab test. Sport has to be fair and safe for biological women," Judy wrote.
Evert agreed with Judy’s views in her repost.
"This picture says it all….," Evert wrote.
Novak Djokovic received flak for following controversial influencer Andrew Tate on social media
Novak Djokovic drew criticism for following controversial figure Andrew Tate on social media. The controversy began when an X user highlighted that Djokovic was following Tate, known for his contentious views on women and involvement in multiple criminal cases, including allegations of sexual aggression, human trafficking, and rape.
The controversy escalated when a famous journalist Ben Rothenberg expressed his opinion on Djokovic following Tate.
Following significant backlash on social media, Novak Djokovic has since unfollowed Tate.
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