Coco Gauff has issued a rallying call to her fellow Americans to exercise peace and respect ahead of the upcoming US presidential election.
Gauff, who is 20, qualifies to vote for the first time during the elections on November 5th, in which Donald Trump and Kamala Harris have emerged as the two major party candidates bidding to win to become the 48th president of the USA.
The hotly contested seat for the White House has been the center of attention throughout 2024 as it will have far-reaching consequences and effects. Political divisions and economic uncertainty have already emanated from an intense period of campaigns.
The impact of social media at this time cannot be understated, as it has been extensively used to drive voter engagement and civic awareness among Americans.
Gauff is using her platform to drive civic participation and voter turnout as she becomes increasingly aware of her country's current state. She's been outspoken and assertive in many social causes since her teenage years.
The World No. 2 spoke to the media before her Cincinnati Open title defense, recounting her experience representing her country at the recently concluded Olympic Games in Paris, where she was named joint flagbearer.
Although Gauff underperformed in two tournaments at the Olympics (she lost in the round of 16 in singles and doubles), she was moved by the solidarity displayed by Americans in support of their athletes, as several of them have been divided by what she perceived as "political turmoil."
"Just playing the Olympics, in general, representing my country, was a great experience. It was nice to see the country united because of sports. I know there’s a lot of political turmoil going on in the country. I hope that it stays as peaceful and respectful as possible, regardless of who you want to win."
"It is nice that the Olympic year is always an election year, because I feel like we all need some peace during election time. One thing, as Americans, is we will put all our differences aside to root for athletes."
Gauff also revealed that many Team USA members, including her fellow tennis peers, knew of the issues at hand but were impressed by how the nation unified because of sports.
A few months ago, the young superstar encouraged her compatriots to come out in large numbers to vote but did not disclose or endorse any political figure publicly.
"I feel like sometimes in my generation, people think their vote doesn’t count. We should just all just use our voices and use the power that we have. I’ll leave who I vote to myself. I’m not publicly backing any candidate."
The 20-year-old's Cincinnati Open title defense did not go to plan as she fell to Kazakhstan's Yulia Putintseva in the second round in three sets. She will drop to third in the WTA rankings at the start of next week, with Aryna Sabalenka set to replace her in the top two.
Gauff will, therefore, be the number three seed at the US Open, raising the possibility of facing either Sabalenka or World No. 1 Iga Swiatek before the final when she begins her Grand Slam title defense later this month.
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