American tennis player Coco Gauff competed at the 2024 Summer Olympics with the aim of winning a gold medal in singles.

That dream was shattered after a surprising defeat against Donna Vekic on Tuesday.

The United States also had high expectations of Gauff, naming her one of the country’s flag bearers at the opening ceremony, alongside basketball superstar LeBron James.

But Gauff, who has only reached the Roland Garros final once, still struggled on clay in Paris.

Gauff not only lost the match, she also lost control of her emotions.

American tennis player Coco Gauff gets into an altercation with officials during a women’s singles match against Donna Vekic at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

(PAtricia DE MELO MOREIRA / AFP)

At a crucial moment in the second set, Vekic hit a ball that appeared to graze the back line and Gauff hit the ball back past her opponent’s side.

The controversy is that the linesman ruled Vekic’s shot “out.” When he then checked the ball markings on the court – Roland Garros is the only tennis venue that does not use technological assessments – the umpire ruled Vekic’s shot “in.”

Gauff argued that the linesman called “out” while she was hitting, causing her to miss. But the umpire ruled that the call came after Gauff hit, so Vekic was awarded the point. If the umpire had ruled that the “out” call came before Gauff hit, the two would have replayed the point.

Then Gauff had a falling out with the authorities.

It seems Gauff was really wrong; the ball was in and the linesman didn’t seem to call “out” until after Gauff had hit her return. She was clearly frustrated with the direction of the game.

She had already lost the first set and was behind in the second set.

Vekic managed to break Gauff in that match and the emotional Gauff never recovered, losing in three sets.

It is a heavy defeat for Gauff, who failed to reach the singles quarterfinals after becoming the first tennis player – and youngest athlete ever – to carry the American flag at the opening ceremony.

But Gauff’s Olympic run isn’t quite over yet. She competes in both women’s doubles (with Jess Pegula) and mixed doubles (with Taylor Fritz).

Both teams are still alive and chasing a gold medal for the Red-White-Blue.