Quote of the Day: Coco Gauff says tennis “has to evolve” after umpire row at Roland Garros

The American was left in tears after yet another high-profile officiating debacle that could have been easily resolved with video replay technology.

Another day, and yet another tennis officiating debacle that could have been easily resolved with video replay and VAR technology at Roland Garros. On Thursday, the latest victim was No. 3 seed Coco Gauff, who was driven to tears after an argument with the chair umpire during her semifinal defeat to world No. 1 Iga Swiatek.

Down a set and on serve at 1-2 in the second, Gauff found herself asking for a play after her opponent’s serve was initially called out. That call had been overruled by chair umpire Aurélie Tourte, who awarded the point to Swiatek as Gauff had missed the return—but the American felt they should have replayed the point, as she claimed the call affected her swing.

If Gauff was, say, a Real Madrid soccer player competing in a UEFA Champions League semifinal—or any athlete in the high-stakes knockout rounds of almost any top flight sport, for that matter—the next move would be straight forward.

In an ideal world, the 20-year-old would have had the option to challenge the umpire’s call and request a video replay using VAR. The video assistant referee, a neutral official tasked with monitoring the action and reviewing on-court incidents, would then pull up the video and audio in question for Tourte—who would be able to rewatch the moment from the chair and either revise or uphold her call. Plus, there would be the added benefit of having some “receipts” to show to Gauff, appeasing the American, before play continued