This win is for Americans who look like me, says French Open champion Gauff
Newly-crowned French Open champion Coco Gauff, the first Black American to win the title in a decade, said on Saturday her victory in Paris was for people back home who looked like her and struggled amid ongoing political turmoil.
Gauff battled from a set down to beat Aryna Sabalenka 6-7(5) 6-2 6-4 and lift her first French Open crown and her second Grand Slam title after the 2023 US Open.
She is the first Black American to win the French Open since Serena Williams in 2015.
'It means a lot [to win the title], and obviously there's a lot going on in our country right now with things — like, everything, yeah. I'm sure you guys know,' she said, smiling but without elaborating further.
The champ's words 🎤
Coco Gauff's on-court interview following her win over Aryna Sabalenka. #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/x0wNwqBUUg
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 7, 2025
'But just to be able to be a representation of that and a representation of, I guess, people that look like me in America who maybe don't feel as supported during this time period, and so just being that reflection of hope and light for those people.'
There has been ongoing political turmoil in the US after the election of President Donald Trump last year.
Trump's first few months in office have featured an unapologetic assault on diversity and inclusion efforts, unravelling decades-old policies to remedy historical injustices for marginalised groups in a matter of weeks.
In his second term, Trump revoked a landmark 1965 executive order mandating equal employment opportunities for all, slashed environmental actions to protect communities of colour and ordered the gutting of an agency that helped fund minority and women-owned businesses.
Coco's way ✨ #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/d6meJq6wsR
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 7, 2025
The actions have alarmed advocates, who say they effectively erase decades of hard-fought progress on levelling the playing field for marginalised communities.
'I remember after the election and it kind of felt a down period a bit and my mom told me during Riyadh [in November 2024] 'just try to win the tournament, just to give something for people to smile for'.
'So that's what I was thinking about today when holding that [trophy].
'Then seeing the flags in the crowd means a lot. You know, some people may feel some type of way about being patriotic and things like that, but I'm definitely patriotic and proud to be American, and I'm proud to represent the Americans who look like me and people who support the things I support.'
Trump has previously denied claims he has employed racist attacks and an agenda throughout his political career.
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IOL News
2 hours ago
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Europe's Left Must Unite to Oppose NATO's Rearmament and Austerity
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Diverting more resources into military spending, already being accompanied by social spending cuts to finance it, will worsen that situation further. The political consequences are also clear. Far-right and neo-fascist forces, exploiting the worsening conditions, which are caused by austerity measures and increased military spending, by demagogically blaming immigrants and ethnic and religious minorities, will gain further strength. The disastrous consequences for traditional left-wing and progressive parties supporting or enacting these rearmament and austerity policies, even before their support for the new NATO rearmament policies, are already known in major European countries. The SPD in Germany in 2025 saw its vote drop to 16%, the lowest since 1887. In the last elections at which they stood independently, the French Socialist Party gained only 6%. In Britain, the Labour Party, which already received one of its lowest votes since the 1930s at the last election, is now in the polls behind the far-right Reform Party. In contrast, left-wing parties that have opposed austerity and NATO policies – La France Insoumise in France, Die Linke in Germany, and the Belgian Workers Party – have maintained or significantly increased their support. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ This disastrous collapse suffered by traditional left-wing parties that have supported war and austerity is extremely dangerous in the context of the rise of far-right parties across Europe. The reason for the collapsing support for such parties is obvious. Such policies attack the population's living standards. 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Now NATO demands rearmament and cuts in social protection to finance this war. NATO forces simultaneously expanded outside Europe to participate in wars in the Global South, Afghanistan and Libya, and set up numerous organisations and initiatives to prepare for intervention in the Global South – such as the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative, the Strategic Direction-South HUB, the Liaison Office in Addis Ababa – and has begun to expand into the Pacific – with Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and South Korea attending every NATO summit since 2022. Such NATO expansion would involve Europe in even more conflicts and more calls for military expenditure. What is required is the complete opposite – priority to social progress and investment for economic growth. Both require more spending and are therefore directly contrary to a military build-up. Europe's need for social spending is obvious. But Europe's investment, the key to economic growth, has also collapsed. In the EU, investment, once depreciation (the wearing out of existing means of production) is taken into account, has halved from 7.4% of GDP in 2007 to only 3.5% on the latest data. International comparisons show this is enough only to generate 1% annual economic growth. Additionally, the US is now pressing for further policies harmful to Europe and its people. The US has already enormously damaged Europe by its conscious policy of cutting off Western Europe's source of cheap energy from Russia, achieved via the Ukraine war and the blowing up of the Nord Stream pipeline, which anyone who looks seriously at the matter knows was carried out by the US.
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