Andy Murray calls out tennis chiefs over Coco Gauff's TINY French Open trophy the champion was sent home with
- Gauff won the French Open to collect the second Grand Slam title of her career
- She made a shock revelation about the trophy in the aftermath of win, however
- Murray took to social media to fight the American's corner after her own post
Andy Murray has called out tennis chiefs over treatment surrounding Coco Gauff after the French Open champion revealed the tiny trophy she was sent home with on social media.
The 21-year-old American sensation conquered Roland-Garros for the very first time after coming from behind to defeat the top-ranked Sabalenka 6-7, 6-2, 6-4.
This marked the second Grand Slam of Gauff's career, having also claimed the 2023 US Open title. The world No 2 became the first American to win the French Open since Serena Williams in 2015.
Now, she will look to back-up her success at Wimbledon later this month, going into the tournament as third favourite for victory, behind Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina.
In the fall-out of the French Open, though, Gauff took to social media the show off her trophy - but it wasn't as fans may expect. She revealed the actual trophy the winners get to take home, and it's not quite the one supporters see when the trophy is lifted.
Andy Murray has called for tennis authorities to do better after a shock Coco Gauff revelation
Gauff won the French Open - her second singles title of her career - at the weekend
She took to TikTok to reveal that the actual trophy they get to take home is a lot smaller
'This is the trophy that you guys see,' Gauff said in the post. 'The one that we take pictures with, do press with and all that.
'But, actually, we don't get to take this home. This stays with the tournament.'
Picking up the smaller trophy, she continued: 'This is the one we take home. It's like a mini replica of the trophy. It's… really small.'
'That's how small it is. But, you know, it's the memories that matter the most.'
Murray, meanwhile, took to social media to give his opinion, and called out the authorities.
'Surely the tennis majors can do a better job with the replica trophies!?' he wrote. 'They are tiny.'
All Grand Slam winners receive replica trophies to honour their triumphs, as previously showcased on social media by tennis legends Rafa Nadal and Maria Sharapova.
The French Open esteem their champions with the smallest replica trophies, while Wimbledon's are approximately 75 per cent the size of the original.
Maria Sharapova displayed her tiny French Open trophy in a social media post back in 2014
Andy Roddick, meanwhile, has thrown out most of his trophies, wife Brooklyn Decker revealed
The US Open and Australian Open have the largest replica trophies on offer, almost full sized.
Sharapova shared an image of her dog alongside her tiny French Open replica trophy in 2014, which read: 'You decide to show up after months, bring me this and no treats, really!?'
Former tennis star Andy Roddick once surprisingly threw away almost all of his replica trophies, admitting that they 'didn't mean success' to him.
His wife Brooklyn Decker told PEOPLE in 2017: 'We have his US Open trophy. But all his other trophies Andy threw away in the garbage.
'It was really upsetting. He did it one day when I was out of town. [He] decided that these don’t mean success to me, these don’t define me and I don’t really care to have these material things sitting around the house, so he threw them in the trash. I think he saved a few but they are not on display.'
Whether Gauff will feel similarly to her fellow American compatriot remains to be seen.
Women's tennis players, meanwhile, will now received protected rankings during periods where they undergo fertility treatment, according to a new announcement.
The WTA, the sport's governing body broke new ground in March when they announced that they would be ensuring that their players would be eligible to receive maternity pay and 'comprehensive benefits' thanks to a new initiative between the organisation and their partner the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF).
The controversial financial agreement with the Gulf state's sovereign wealth fund is just over a year old, and the initiative was the first of significance with the PIF as the tour's 'exclusive global partner'.
