American tennis star Coco Gauff expressed her sadness over the loss of TikTok in the United States after her Australian Open victory. Following her win against Belinda Bencic, where she triumphed 5-7, 6-2, 6-1 to reach the quarterfinals, Gauff wrote “RIP TikTok USA” on a TV camera lens and drew a broken heart.
The match ended on Sunday afternoon in Melbourne, just an hour after TikTok was removed from major app stores in the U.S. on Saturday.
“I couldn’t access it after my match. I honestly thought I’d be fine since I’m in Australia,” Gauff shared during her post-match news conference. “I hope it comes back. It’s really sad. I’ve been using TikTok since it was Musical.ly. I love the app. It’s like an escape for me, and I usually use it before my matches. I guess this will push me to read more books and be more productive. Maybe it’s a blessing in disguise.”
After her victory, tennis players are often given a pen to write a message for the courtside camera, and Coco Gauff took a moment to think before writing her message. She then said, “I think I’m going to go with this one,” before using blue ink to share her message about TikTok.
At the 2022 French Open, after making her first Grand Slam final as a teenager, Coco Gauff used her courtside camera moment to address the mass shootings happening in the U.S., writing, “Peace. End gun violence.”
Now 20 years old, Gauff has become one of the top tennis players in the world, winning the 2023 U.S. Open and currently holding the No. 3 ranking.
Gauff has been an active TikTok user, often participating in popular trends on the platform.
Regarding the app’s recent issues, Gauff shared her thoughts during the Australian Open, saying, “This feels like the third or fourth time this has happened. At this point, I’m just like, ‘Whatever.’ If I wake up and it doesn’t work, fine. I’m done wasting my time trying to figure it out.” She also mentioned a new app called RedNote, which many people are moving to, adding, “People will be fine because they always find a new app to migrate to.”
Coco Gauff expressed her hope that TikTok would continue, emphasizing its positive impact on small businesses and creators who rely on the platform to earn money and share stories. She mentioned how she has personally discovered many great stories and connected with people through TikTok. While she supports the app, Gauff acknowledged that she’s not fully aware of the security concerns surrounding it.
TikTok was removed from major app stores, including those run by Apple and Google, and its website informed users that the platform was no longer available. This blackout came just hours before a U.S. federal law was set to take effect, which would ban TikTok unless its China-based parent company, ByteDance, sold the platform.
Belarusian tennis star Aryna Sabalenka, ranked No. 1 and the two-time defending champion in Melbourne, also commented on the situation, saying, “This is not something we can control, and I hope they’re going to figure it out because I love TikTok.”
