When Coco Gauff reached her first Grand Slam final at the French Open, defeating Martina Trevisan 6-3, 6-1 to become the youngest Grand Slam finalist since Maria Sharapova in 2004 , left the Court Philippe Chatrier with a message.
Referring to the recent mass shooting at a school in Uvalde, Texas and many others, Gauff wrote, “Peace. End gun violence,” on camera as he walked out of court.
In his later press conference, Gauff said he had only thought of writing on camera as he walked toward her and that he was spurred on to wake up with another shooting, this time in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Wednesday. Armed violence is especially close to home after friends were caught in the 2018 Parkland School shooting in Florida.
“I think it was especially important for me to be in Europe and be where I know people around the world are sure to be watching,” he said. “I think this is a problem in other parts of the world, but especially in America it’s a problem that frankly has been going on for a few years, but obviously now it’s getting more attention. But for me it’s been a problem for years.” .
He continued: “For me, it’s a bit close to home. I had some friends who were part of the Parkland shoot. I remember seeing the whole experience pretty much first hand, seeing and having friends going through that whole experience. Luckily they were able to get out. I think it’s crazy, I think maybe he was 14 or 13 when he passed away, and nothing has changed yet. “
Gauff, who turned 18 in March, has been talking about various topics since he toured at the age of 15 in 2019, including talking about the climate emergency and even giving a speech during a Black Lives Matter march on 2020: “I think that now especially being 18 years old, I have really tried to educate myself in certain situations, because now I have the right to vote and I want to use it wisely.”
When asked if he has ever felt pressured around him not to talk about non-tennis issues, Gauff said the opposite is true, as people around him have often encouraged him to think more. beyond the track.
“Anyway, my team and my parents encourage me to write this,” he said. “Since I was a kid, I know I said it before, that my dad told me I could change the world with my racket. I didn’t mean it just by playing tennis. I meant talking about things like this. first my father told me after I left the track, ‘I’m proud of you and I love what you wrote on camera.’ “