Donna Vekić provided an update about her relationship with Coco Gauff after their Olympic showdown rocked the tennis world.
Vekić, 28, defeated Gauff, 20, in their third round at the 2024 Paris Olympics on July 30 in a match that featured a heated confrontation between Gauff and the chair umpire.
During a crucial moment in the second set, a linesperson called a deep serve return from Vekić out, prompting Gauff to pull up on her shot and send the ball into the net. However, the umpire overturned the point after deeming Vekić’s shot was in, rewarding the point and a break of serve to Vekić.
An emotional Gauff — who argued the confusion about the call impeded her shot — pleaded with the umpire, saying, “I feel like I’m getting cheated on constantly in this game,” as tears swelled in her eyes.
In an exclusive conversation with Us Weekly, Vekić recalled what was going through her mind while Gauff was making her case.
“I was just trying to stay calm because obviously in the moment it’s difficult,” Vekić said. “I thought the umpire made the right decision, which we all saw after in the replay and slow motion and things on Twitter. But you know, in the moment it’s tough because it’s a full stadium. Everyone is booing. It was not easy.”
After defeating Gauff, Vekić would advance all the way to the women’s singles final, ultimately falling to Qinwen Zheng and leaving Paris with the silver medal for Croatia.
As for any continued bad blood between her and Gauff, however, Vekić said there is “absolutely not” any tension. In fact, the players even practiced together in New York City ahead of the 2024 U.S. Open, where Vekić won her first-round match Monday, August 26 against Kimberly Birrell 6-4, 6-4.
“When you’re playing in a match in these high pressure moments, it’s not easy, especially when you feel like they made a wrong decision against you,” Vekić said of Gauff’s reaction. “I can understand her in a way. I’m just happy I didn’t let it distract me.”
After the loss, Gauff continued to argue for a universal replay system in tennis — which also earned the support of Vekić.
“Yes, I think we should have that,” Vekić told Us. “This is what we have on a couple of courts at the U.S. Open. Hopefully, it will be implemented at all tournaments.”
Since winning her silver medal, Vekić said she’s been traveling with the prize — which includes a small piece of the Eiffel Tower — and keeping it in a safe. However, she joked about using the medal more to her advantage moving forward.
“My friend and I were in a shop the other day and we had to wait to try on some dresses,” she said. “She said, ‘I wish we had the medal. That would speed things up.’”
Vekić returns to the court for her second-round U.S. Open match on Wednesday, August 28.