Tennis controversies of the week: Frances Tiafoe & Coco Gauff caught in drama at Canadian Open, Martina Navratilova calls out Hulk Hogan & more

Frances Tiafoe and Coco Gauff were among the players who made headlines last week at the 2025 National Bank Open in Montreal. After her shock defeat to Victoria Mboko in the fourth round, Gauff was asked a question that fans found racially motivated.

Meanwhile, Tiafoe had an altercation with the chair umpire during his second-round clash with Yosuke Watanuki, with the American choosing not to shake the official's hand after the match. Martina Navratilova did not mince her words while criticizing the late WWE superstar Hulk Hogan, who died last month.

Also, Veronika Kudermetova revealed that Holger Rune, who is six years younger than her, made a move on her before she told him she was married. Goran Ivanisevic called out French tennis coach Patrick Mouratoglou over the Croatian's criticism of Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Let's find out more about these controversies from last week.

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#1 Coco Gauff fans outraged over question after 4R loss

Coco Gauff (L) and Victoria Mboko after their Round-of-16 clash at the National Bank Open

After her hard-fought wins over Danielle Collins and Veronika Kudermetova, Coco Gauff suffered a straight-set defeat against Victoria Mboko in the fourth round of the Canadian Open on Saturday, August 2. However, it was Gauff's post-match press conference that was more disturbing for some of her fans.

A reporter asked the top seed if she saw herself in Mboko, an unseeded Canadian, who beat Kimberly Birrell, Sofia Kenin, and Marie Bouzkova earlier in the tournament. While Gauff said she stayed away from comparisons, a few fans called out the journalist, as they saw the question as discriminatory and based on the skin color of the two players.

Coco Gauff has struggled since winning the 2025 French Open. She faced opening-round exits at Berlin and the Wimbledon Championships. At the Canadian Open, the American committed 42 double faults across three matches.

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#2 Frances Tiafoe confronts chair umpire after getting a code violation

Frances Tiafoe was up against unseeded Yosuke Watanuki of Japan in the second round of the National Bank Open on July 30. The American lost the first set but bounced back to win 1-6, 7-5, 7-6(5).

It wasn't the smoothest victory for Tiafoe, who was exhilarated upon rallying from 0-40 to go 4-3 up in the second set, especially after losing the first set. Chair umpire Fergus Murphy handed the seventh seed a code violation for audible obscenity amid his loud celebration.

Disagreeing with the umpire's call, Tiafoe said:

"You can't give me a code if I'm positively reinforcing myself. Doesn't matter what I say." "It might be positive to you but other people would get offended with that word. I'm explaining, that's the rule," Murphy responded.

They continued to exchange words for the rest of the match. After he won, Tiafoe did not shake hands with the umpire, though he thanked the official for not giving him a game penalty.

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#3 Martina Navratilova slams Florida governor and Hulk Hogan

Martina Navratilova did not hold back from expressing her disgust for Ron DeSantis, the 46th governor of Florida, who recently decided to honor the late Terry Gene Bollea, popularly known as Hulk Hogan. The WWE superstar died from a cardiac arrest on July 24.

DeSantis ordered the lowering of flags at the State Capitol in Tallahassee and in the entire Pinellas County on August 1. Additionally, the governor declared the day as 'Hulk Hogan Day' in Florida.

"Our governor can eff off on this. Hulk was a nasty human being," Navratilova wrote in reference to his controversial past, including racist remarks, sex tape scandal, and use of steroid, among others.

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#4 Holger Rune cuts off communication with married Veronika Kudermetova

Appearing on former player Elena Vesnina’s podcast last week, Veronika Kudermetova revealed that Holger Rune, 22, had slid into her DMs. After the Dane approached Kudermetova, the 28-year-old started by saying she was 'too old' for him. The Russian completely dashed Rune's hopes by telling him that she was married.

“Rune recently texted me. I told him, ‘Boy, I’m probably too old for you. If you looked at my Instagram, you’d see I have a husband.’ He replied, ‘Oh, sorry.’ Since then, he doesn’t even say hello to me anymore," Kudermetova said.

Veronika Kudermetova is married to former player Sergei Demekhine, who is 13 years her senior. He started coaching Kudermetova when she was 15. The couple tied the knot in 2017.

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#5 Goran Ivanisevic responds to Patrick Mouratoglou regarding Stefanos Tsitsipas

The Championships - Wimbledon 2025. - Source: Getty

Novak Djokovic's former coach Goran Ivanisevic started working with Stefanos Tsitsipas after the 2025 French Open. The Greek star's dismal run continued at the Wimbledon Championships, where he retired after losing two sets to Valentin Royer in the first round.

This was followed by Ivanisevic's blunt criticism of the 26-year-old. However, Frenchman Patrick Mouratoglou defended Tsitsipas while targeting the former Croatian player, saying:

"In a way, it makes me feel that Ivanisevic is ashamed of the results and he wants to separate himself from Stefanos to say, 'It's not me, me, I'm good. He is not good. That's his fault.'"

Goran Ivanisevic expressed his displeasure with the French coach, saying Mouratoglou should have spoken to him directly instead of going on the internet.

"I will talk to him when I see him, that's for sure. If he has a problem with me, he should call me, tell me what he thinks. I will tell him what I think. I don't go around and talk what I think about him. I better not say what I think about him, so I will be quiet for the moment," Ivanisevic said.

After splitting with Ivanisevic, Tsitsipas has rehired his father, Apostolos, as his coach.

Edited by Samya Majumdar