Coco and Corey Gauff.Photo:Robert Prange/Getty
Robert Prange/Getty
Coco Gauff’s dad is proud of how his daughter handled herself on the court.
Gauff, 19, found herself in a disagreement with an umpire during the Dubai Tennis Championships on Wednesday over a disputed point.
Ultimately, Gauff defeated Karolína Plíšková in the match, after roughly five minutes of game break in which the umpire refused to credit Gauff with the point, instead saying the point should be replayed. The American tennis star asked to speak with the match supervisor, but the umpire refused.
The argument went viral on social media, with a majority of fans and analysts agreeing with Coco.
Tennis greatAndy Roddickwrote, “This is an absurd exchange for this umpire," on X, formerly Twitter, andexplained, “1. He’s completely wrong 2. He’s lying about being wrong. 3. She must have simply said 10 plus times, I’d like the supervisor.”
Roddick added, “That’s not a judgement call. He simply needed to honor that normal request and call the supervisor.”
Coco Gauff of the United States in action against Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic in the third round on Day 4 of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, part of the Hologic WTA Tour at Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium on February 21, 2024.Robert Prange/Getty
Corey Gauff, Coco’s father, took to Instagram to share his thoughts on the debate and praise for how his daughter handled the frustrating situation.
Corey began, “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."
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Corey added that his daughter is “an incredible example to women” and to her “generation” on “what it means to fight.”
“Despite not getting the outcome you wanted you wanted you stood up for yourself and successfully moved on. You are becoming the young woman I prayed for. God Bless you,” Corey wrote.
Coco Gauff with her parents Corey and Candi Gauff, at the WTA-Upper Austria Ladies final tennis match in 2019.BARBARA GINDL/APA/AFP/Getty
BARBARA GINDL/APA/AFP/Getty
Coco’s mom, Candi Gauff, commented, “Very proud,” on Corey’s post.
Coco appreciated her father’s kind words and thanked him for “being the best father” in a comment on his post. Coco wrote, “Aw thank you dad I love you so much! thanks for being the best father. I would have never become the person i am without you.”
Next, Coco will compete against Anna Kalinskaya in Dubai for the tournament’s quarterfinals.
source: people.com
