Coco Gauff’s Olympic Hopes Dwindle After Doubles Exit
Coco Gauff’s Olympic campaign in Paris took a disappointing turn on Wednesday as she suffered a second-round exit in women’s doubles, a day after her tearful departure from singles.
Gauff and her American teammate, Jessica Pegula, were the top-seeded women’s pair but were eliminated by the Czech duo of Karolina Muchova and Linda Noskova in a thrilling match tiebreaker, 2-6, 6-4, 10-5.
The setback came on the heels of Gauff’s heartbreaking loss to Donna Vekic of Croatia in the third round of singles, where she was seeded second. The American had a heated exchange with the chair umpire near the end of that match over an officiating decision.
Despite the setbacks, Gauff still has a chance to salvage her Olympic experience in mixed doubles, where she is scheduled to partner with Taylor Fritz later Wednesday.
Gauff arrived in France as one of the most highly anticipated athletes in the Games. The 20-year-old from Florida won her first Grand Slam singles title at the US Open last September and collected her first major doubles title at the French Open in June.
Muchova, who was the runner-up to Iga Swiatek at the French Open last year, returned to action in June after missing 10 months due to surgery on her right wrist.
Noskova, 18, has emerged as a rising star in the sport. She made history at the Australian Open in January when she became the first teenager to defeat a No. 1-ranked woman at Melbourne Park since 1999.
The match between Gauff and Pegula and Muchova and Noskova was delayed by rain before the Czechs took the second set. They then dominated the match tiebreaker, with Noskova sealing the victory with a volley winner.
