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Louise Thomas
Editor
Coco Gauff has shared what living in the 2024 Paris Olympic Village is really like.
In a viral TikTok video, the 20-year-old Olympic tennis player revealed she was one of 10 athletes in a communal living situation, sharing just two bathrooms. Along with overlaid text reading “10 girls, two bathrooms #olympics,” the video was paired with a sound compilation of clips from several movies including Ready or Not, Pearl, and Hereditary.
Although the issue has already seen a partial resolution, it came at an added cost, leading some of the other American tennis players to move into a nearby hotel. The 2023 US Open champion noted in the comment section that because of this, there are now only five of them left living in the Olympic Village.
Despite the close quarters, the Olympics have thus far been a great experience for Gauff, having served as one of the opening ceremony flag-bearers for Team USA alongside NBA superstar LeBron James. Not only that but she’s also won a doubles match with Jessica Pegula, beating Australia’s Ellen Perez and Daria Saville on Saturday. The following day she also beat Ajla Tomljanović in the opening round of the women’s singles tournament.
However, the tennis player did not advance and was later defeated during the third round at Court Philippe-Chatier by Wimbledon semi-finalist Donna Vekic after a disputed call led to Vekic’s victory. At the time, Gauff cried as she argued with the chair umpire Jaume Campistol over a near-identical dispute to a previous incident two months ago that led to her defeat at the French Open to eventual champion Iga Swiatek.
“I never argue these calls but he called it out before I hit the ball. It always happens to me on this court!” Gauff told the umpire. “Call the supervisor. It always happens to me, every time. You understand that I always have to advocate for myself, all the time. I’m getting cheated in this game. You guys are not fair to me.”
After trailing during the second set, Gauff claimed that she missed her shot because a line official distracted her as he called a shot from Vekic as she was preparing to return the ball. When the call was overturned, it gave the Croatian tennis player the edge she needed to win the game.
Gauff later addressed the situation, calling for video reviews of games in the future.
“There’s been multiple times this year where that’s happened to me — where I felt like I always have to be an advocate for myself on the court,” she said. “These points are big deals. Usually afterward, they apologize. So it’s kind of frustrating. The ‘Sorry’ doesn’t help you once the match is over. I can’t say I would have won the match if I would have won that point.”
Although she’s been eliminated from the women’s singles competition, Gauff is still competing in women’s doubles and mixed doubles.
