CoCo Vandeweghe has taken to social media to explain the circumstances surrounding her reluctance to participate in a warm-up at a tournament in Pennsylvania, after footage of the bizarre incident went viral on social media.
The video shows Vandeweghe casually swinging at balls that barely clear the net, poking shots back while holding the throat of the racket with her non-dominant hand, and swiping the ball in random directions.
The American’s actions, which followed the temporary suspension of her match against Georgia’s Ekaterine Gorgodze due to excessive heat, sparked a furious response on Twitter, with users branding her behaviour “petulant” and “appalling”.
But in a statement published on Twitter, Vandeweghe, who took a medical timeout after losing the second set, said she was struggling with breathing difficulties and heat exhaustion.
“I am and have been suffering from a severe sinus infection which is limiting my breathing,” wrote Vandeweghe, the former world No 9, who is now ranked 151 after struggling with an ankle injury.
“Late in the second set of my match yesterday I also began experiencing symptoms of heat exhaustion. By the end of the second set my entire body was cramping intensely and I had extreme nausea. I struggled to finish.
“After the suspension was lifted my opponent requested a warm-up; I informed the umpire that I preferred to skip the warm-up, citing my exhaustion and general illness in an attempt to conserve energy for what would be a gruelling third set under the conditions.”
Events took a further twist when torrential rain forced the abandonment of play early in the decider. Vandeweghe, who had appeared increasingly uninvolved towards the end of the second set, clutching at her leg as Gorgodze seized the opportunity to level the match, subsequently pulled out of the tournament in Landisville. Gorgodze will now play Britain’s Emma Raducanu.
“Heat exhaustion continued throughout the night,” explained Vandeweghe. “I attempted a warm-up this morning and decided to withdraw when I realised that I was unable to compete with all of my ability. I had zero intention of ever disrupting play.”
Former top-ranked doubles player Rennae Stubbs moved to counterbalance the criticism levelled at Vandeweghe.
“The context of this is important,” wrote Stubbs on Twitter. “She didn’t want to warm up, is not required to warm up. Gave the option to her opponent to warm up with her coach. She was sick and struggling. Doing an extra five minutes in that heat being sick, she decided against it.”