Coco Gauff, who once gave a speech at a Black Lives Matter rally in Delray Beach when she was 16, spoke out again in a recent interview in Rome blasting Florida Governor Ron DeSantis before she takes center stage at the French Open.
The reigning U.S. Open champion and Delray Beach resident told the Associated Press that it is “a crazy time to be a Floridian, especially a Black one at that.’’
Gauff, who is now 20, told AP that she is preparing to vote for the first time in a U.S. presidential election later this year and is urging other young people to vote.
“We aren’t happy with the current state of our government in Florida, especially everything with the books and just the way our office operates,” the third-ranked Gauff said, according to the interview.
Gauff’s reference was to the controversy stemming from banning some books from schools due to a bill signed two years ago by DeSantis.
She told AP she wouldn’t reveal whom she would back in the presidential election between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.
More:Coco Gauff helps unveil refurbished tennis courts at Delray Beach’s Pompey Park
In the leadup to the French Open, which starts Sunday, Gauff lost in Rome in the semifinals to her nemesis Iga Swiatek, 6-4, 6-3.
Gauff talked about her French Open title chances at a press conference after the Swiatek loss, according to a transcript obtained by The Palm Beach Post.
“I think from the start of the clay till now, I feel like my confidence is definitely very high,” she said. “Like, it sucks to lose, but I know I lost playing the right way. I know that I’m a good player and that I can do better in those moments. I think I’m just trusting myself and my practice at that. I think the way that I lost today, it wasn’t because a wing or a shot broke down, it’s because she was the better player. I think going into Roland Garros, like if you asked me pretournament and now, I feel like I’m a different player in terms of just how I’ve been playing.”
