‘People Do It All Ages’ – 19-Year-Old Coco Gauff Passionately Defends Russian Opponent Mirra Andreeva Despite Her ‘Stupid’ French Open Move

The clay court Grand Slam tournament is in full flow, and all the tennis players participating in the tournament are giving their 100% to move past their opponents. The 2023 French Open has become a hotspot for headlines from the tennis world. Earlier, the tournament made waves for not scheduling women’s matches during prime time. And recently, the teenage battle that took place between Coco Gauff and Mirra Andreeva also saw a controversial incident.

The 16-year-old tennis player, who was playing her debut Grand Slam tournament, earned a code violation for smashing a tennis ball into the crowd. And in the post-match interview, her opponent, the 19-year-old American tennis sensation, Coco Gauff, shared her take on Andreeva’s behavior on the tennis court.

Coco Gauff talks about Mirra Andreeva’s ‘stupid’ French Open action

Gauff recently spoke about her opponent’s careless act during the third round of the French Open tournament. While Gauff defeated the 16-year-old tennis player, the latter’s frustrated behavior grabbed all the attention. During the first set tiebreaker, after missing two chances to clinch the set, Andreeva blasted the ball into the jam-packed crowd gathered at the Suzanne Lenglen court. However, as no one was injured, she got away with a warning call from the umpire.

The 18-year-old, in the post-match press conference, empathized with the Russian tennis player and talked about how these acts can be attributed to an athlete’s frustration.

She said, “So, I mean, generally I would say yes, I’m pretty well-behaved, quote, well-behaved. What she did on the court, it’s not an age. It’s just being an athlete and being frustrated, to be honest. People do it at all ages, so I’m not going to blame it on her age. I mean, the ball thing, I guess maybe keep that in control.” 

Even Andreeva felt that she did not set the right example with her actions. During the post-match press conference, she said, “Right after, I thought that it was a really stupid move from me because it was not necessary to do that.”

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Moreover, the world’s sixth-ranked tennis player also revealed that she was not sure about what transpired, that forced the umpire to issue a warning.

Gauff was not aware of Andreeva’s careless act

During the post-match press conference, the 19-year-old tennis player revealed that she was not aware of the entire incident that took place. And only heard the warning call from the umpire. She was unsure if it was racket abuse or ball abuse.

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She also mentioned how, during the match, her Russian rival had already “banged” her racket several times. Therefore, she assumed that the umpire’s warning might have been due to racket abuse. However, she did not give a straightforward answer about whether the Russian tennis player should have been disqualified for her actions.

Do you think Andreeva’s reckless act warranted a disqualification? Let us know in the comments below.