Coco Gauff had a strange vision before her semi-final match against Karolina Muchova at the 2023 US Open, but it wasn't about tennis or winning her first Grand Slam.
During the semi-final clash between Gauff and Muchova, climate change protesters disrupted the match from the stands. Two of the protesters started chanting and revealed messages on t-shirts among the crowd just as Muchova was about to serve, while another protester glued their feet to the stadium floor.
Play was suspended for over an hour as security personnel responded to the disruption and Gauff then went on the defeat Muchova in straight sets when play resumed as she set up a final clash against Sabalenka on Saturday.
However, Gauff made a strange admission after the match concluded as the 19-year-old admitted that she felt some kind of climate change protest would take place at Flushing Meadows.
"The crazy thing is this morning I told myself ‘I bet there’s gonna be a climate change protest in the final.’ I didn’t think it’d be in the semifinal. Immediately when it happened, I told the ref it was a protest. Karolina asked me how I recognized it was a protest. I was like ‘I don’t know. Something this morning told me.’
As well as predicting that a protest would happen at the 2023 US Open, Gauff also shared her views on the climate change activists after the match. The 19-year-old said she is supportive of the cause which the protesters are raising awareness for and that she is considerate as long as the activists are peaceful.
The semi-final protest at the US Open has been the only one so far and it comes after a series of activists organised climate change protests throughout the summer in the UK. Leading up to Wimbledon 2023, concerns were raised about potential protests and several were carried out, with some matches delayed due to the actions.
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