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Coco Gauff overcame Martina Trevisan’s challenge in the French Open semifinals to reach her maiden Grand Slam final.
Gauff won in straight sets, beating the unseeded Italian 6-3, 6-1 to set up a title clash with World No. 1 Iga Swiatek.
Following her win on Thursday, the 18-year-old wrote down a poignant message on the camera lens.
"Peace. End gun violence," Gauff wrote, joining the conversation around gun violence in America.
The message comes in the aftermath of the Texas school shooting incident, where 19 children and 2 adults lost their lives. The Texas incident happened 10 days after another shooting that took place in Tops Supermarket in Buffalo, New York, where ten people were killed and three injured.
The Texas tragedy, which took place in Uvalde, was the 27th in a series of school shootings in the US this year which has restarted the debate on gun control.
From win over Venus Williams to first-ever Grand Slam final: Coco Gauff's rapid ascent
Gauff, who played her maiden Grand Slam semifinal at the 2022 French Open, is the youngest player in the top 100 of the WTA rankings.
The teenager, whose sensational win against Venus Williams in the opening round of Wimbledon 2019 made the headlines, was also the youngest ever in the history of the tournament to make it to the main draw at age 15.
A win against top-seed Kiki Bertens in the quarterfinals of the Linz Open in 2019 was followed by another against Jelena Ostapenko in the final of the tournament, which made Gauff the youngest player to win a WTA title since 2004.
A second triumph over Venus Williams in the first round of the 2020 Australian Open catapulted the teenager into the limelight.
At Roland-Garros this year, Gauff handed Elise Mertens a bagel in the fourth round with an emphatic 6-4, 6-0 win, before accounting for Sloane Stephens in the quarterfinals.
The teenager has now become the youngest Grand Slam finalist since Maria Sharapova in 2004 and the youngest finalist at Roland-Garros since Kim Clijsters in 2001.
Gauff now runs into World No.1 Iga Swiatek, who has been in imposing form with a 34-match unbeaten streak.
The American, who lost to Swiatek at the Miami Masters earlier this year and also at the Rome Masters in 2021, will be looking to set the record straight in the summit clash on Saturday.
