Coco Gauff’s coach, Brad Gilbert, has criticized chair umpire Pierre Bacchi for what he called a ‘ridiculous oversight’ during a dispute with the American in her third-round match at the 2024 Dubai Tennis Championships.
Gauff orchestrated a spirited comeback to defeat Karolina Pliskova 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 in an hour and 53 minutes to secure a spot in the quarterfinals in Dubai. The victory not only improved the World No. 3’s head-to-head record against Pliskova to 2-1 but also put an end to the former World No. 1’s 11-match winning streak.
The match took a dramatic turn at 4-2 in the second set, when a controversial call was made by the chair umpire in favor of Pliskova. Umpire Bacchi ruled Gauff’s serve at deuce “out,” despite Pliskova returning it into the net.
Rightfully frustrated, the 19-year-old challenged the call, which was ultimately proven to be in by the Hawk-Eye technology. However, Bacchi did not award Gauff the point and instead granted her another first serve.
This decision further incensed Gauff, leading her to ask Bacchi to call his supervisor, a request that went unanswered.
Several fans on X (formerly Twitter) commended Coco Gauff for standing her ground, with one fan writing:
“Good for her for standing up for herself, even in vain. Pierre Bacchi is … not having a great week.”
Brad Gilbert echoed the fan’s sentiment, advocating for mandatory electronic line calling in WTA 1000 tournaments and suggesting that the chair umpire should not officiate the remainder of the tournament.
“At a 1000’s should be absolutely mandatory to have electronic line calling, and this umpire should not work rest of tournament 🏟️ in my humble opinion,” Gilbert wrote. Gilbert also opined that umpire Bacchi’s refusal to allow Gauff to speak with his supervisor was a “ridiculous oversight.”
“Unfortunately the umpire denied this request was ridiculous oversight,” Gilbert wrote.
