Coco Gauff became the youngest Grand Slam finalist in 18 years at the French Open on Thursday and used her landmark performance to demand action on mass shootings in the United States by writing “peace, end gun violence” on a courtside TV camera.
American star Gauff, 18, will face world number one Iga Swiatek in the final on Saturday after defeating Martina Trevisan 6-3, 6-1 in her semi-final.
Before penning her plea for gun control at home, she insisted that recent tragedies mean she will treat victory or defeat in the championship match with equal equanimity.
“Yeah it’s a Grand Slam final but there are so many things going on in the world, especially in the US – I think it’s not important to stress over a tennis match,” she said in her on-court TV interview.
Gauff was talking just hours after a gunman killed at least four people at a hospital building in Tulsa, Oklahoma, -- the latest in a string of mass shootings across the United States in recent weeks.