Coco Gauff advances to her first US Open final and becomes the youngest American to do so since Serena Williams in 2001.
The 19-year-old was unfazed during her semifinal match Thursday night. Gauf was up by a set against Karolina Muchova and up 1-0 in the second match when protest from environmental activists caused a 50-minute delay. One activist reportedly glued his feet to the floor in the stands. According to a statement from the U.S. Tennis Association, the protestors were taken to police custody,
“If that’s what they felt they needed to do to get their voices heard,” Gauff said in response to the protest, “I can’t really get upset at it.”
Gauff looks to claim her first Grand Slam trophy as she told fans after her match “Job’s not done.”
She lost her first Grand Slam final at the French Open in 2022. After her shocking first-round defeat in Wimbledon back in July, the young phenom said she be going “back to the drawing bored.”
“I feel like I have been working hard, but clearly it’s not enough,” she said at the time.
After clinching with a six-match point she celebrated letting out a powerful scream and pumped her fist at the electric crowd in New York at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Coco Gauff will face the second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka on Saturday for the grand slam title.