Coco Gauff made history at the French Open semi-finals and took the time to share a message about the wave of mass shootings in the US.
On Thursday (June 2), Gauff became the youngest tennis player to advance to the French Open Final in 21 years, according to The Guardian. The 18-year-old and recent high school graduation defeated Italy's Martina Trevisan 6-3, 6-1 in their semi-final match-up.
After her historic win, Gauff took a pen and wrote a message on the lens of one of the on-court cameras. addressing the gun violence back home: "Peace. End Gun Violence <3 Coco," the message read.
Since the French Open's start on May 16, the US has seen multiple horrific mass shootings including the targeted attack on a Buffalo, New York grocery store, a fatal shooting inside of a California church, the massacre of school children in Uvalde, Texas, and most recently, the deaths of two physicians and two others at a Tulsa, Oklahoma medical center.
"For me, it was important to use the platform that I have, especially since I'm in Europe and ... I wanted to bring attention to it," Gauff said of writing the message on the camera. "I think we need some change and reform."
As it relates to tennis, Gauff has won all of the 12 sets she's played in the last two weeks and says she's not focused on the pressure of the finals.
"I think I am in a mind now like it does not matter," Gauff said of the pressure ahead of the French Open Final ahead of her. "I am going to be happy regardless," she added. "My parents are going to love me regardless. So I am going into it as another match."
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