'They had no respect!' – Laura Siegemund breaks down in tears at the US Open

Laura Siegemund has just endured the worst moment of her tennis career – and at the US Open no less.

The German tennis player faced Cori Coco Gauff in the first round of the North American Open, the great American hope touted to take over from Serena Williams as the dominant force in women's tennis.

Everything pointed to a simple victory for Coco Gauff. The American is number 6 in the WTA ranking, while Laura Siegemund is ranked 121 in the same ranking. In addition, they competed on the Arthur Ase court, the center of the US Open.

But the match started with a surprise and the German took the first set (3-6), although Coco Gauff came back from behind in the second (6-2). Down 3-0 in the third set, Siegemund chose to slow down the match somewhat as her opponent had imposed a very high pace, taking advantage of her physique.

Coco Gauff, upset by the situation, went to the chair umpire, Marijana Veljovic, to complain about Siegemund wasting time. From there, things took a turn for the worse for the German player.

The stands, focused on the North American player, begin to whistle and boo Laura Siegemund at each serve. The tension reached its peak when, at 5-1 in the last set, the chair umpire sanctioned Siegemund with a point for wasting time, after having already given her a warning.

Coco Gauff wins the match, goes to the second round and while Siegemund leaves the court amidst boos and insults. Her reaction at the press conference was a statement full of tension, frustration, and pain that ended with the player in tears.

"I am very disappointed by the way people have treated me today. They did not respect me, they did not respect my game, nor the player that I am. They had no respect for tennis, for good tennis. And that hurts a lot," she commented, visibly affected.

Siegemund pointed directly at those she considers guilty of the situation. "I have only experienced this kind of unfair and disrespectful behavior towards non-American players here, on this court," he noted.

Photo: Twitter - @Eurosport

And despite being one of the oldest players on the circuit, Siegemund burst into tears in the middle of a press conference. "They treated me like a cheater, a bad person and I did nothing, I was just slow."

In closing, he went so far as to state that, if it were up to the public, he would not return to Flushing Meadows. "I would come just because it's a Grand Slam but not to offer a show that people don't deserve." It will be necessary to see if he returns in 2024 or not.

Photo: Twitter - @Eurosport