Coco Gauff said at a press conference Sunday at the Dubai Tennis Championships that she’s “proud to be an American” while also denouncing the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis last month.
“Everything going on in the U.S. — obviously I’m not really for it. I don’t think people should be dying in the streets just for existing. I don’t like what’s going on,” Gauff said.
Gauff, 21, a two-time Grand Slam champion, is the latest in a growing list of American athletes who have voiced their displeasure with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, who were responsible for the deaths of Good and Pretti.
Winter Olympian Hunter Hess told reporters on Feb. 6, “Just because I’m wearing the flag doesn’t mean I represent everything that’s going on in the U.S.” That drew a reaction from President Donald Trump, who called Hess a “real Loser” on his Truth Social platform.
Madison Keys, who is ranked No. 17 on the WTA circuit and fourth among American women, also weighed in on the subject.
“I am hopeful that we as a country can come together and get back to the values that I think make our country great,” Keys said. “We are very diverse. We are a home of immigrants. and I hope that we can get back to those values.”
On the men’s side, top-ranked American player Taylor Fritz opted out of the topic.
“I feel like whatever I say here is going to get put in a headline, and it’s going to get taken out of context,” he said. “So, I’d really rather not do something that’s going to cause a big distraction for me in the middle of the tournament.”
Gauff, whose grandmother was the first Black student to attend public school in Delray Beach, Fla., in 1961, said players have the “right” not to comment on politics, but she will continue to answer questions on the subject.
“I think the biggest thing I hate is when people say stay out of it when we’re being asked it,” she said. “If you ask me, I’m going to give you my honest answer. For me, that’s my honest answer. I always try to always answer honestly. I have no problems. I lived this. My grandma is literally an activist. This is literally my life. I’m OK answering tough questions.”
–Field Level Media
