Coco Gauff has opened up about an emotional experience with anti-doping officials, revealing that the testing process once left her in tears.
Speaking after her first-round victory over Tamara Korpatsch on Monday, June 29, Gauff discussed the International Tennis Integrity Agency’s anti-doping procedures, which require players to provide a daily 60-minute time slot during which they must be available for testing. Players can also be tested outside that window if they are located and notified by doping control officers.
The 22-year-old admitted that some interactions with testing officials can be intimidating.
“I’m not going to lie, some of them can be pushy and make you feel like you’re doing something wrong,” she told reporters after the match.
Gauff recalled one particular incident when a doping control officer contacted her outside her designated availability window.
“The way she was speaking to me on the phone, it literally made me cry afterwards,” she said.
The American star later discovered that she had been within her rights and was not required to comply with the request.
Despite the upsetting experience, Gauff has remained focused on her campaign, following up her opening-round victory with another win over Solana Sierra in a hard-fought three-set contest on Wednesday, July 1.
