Coco Gauff is making history in the tennis world. The 18-year-old beat Italy’s Martina Trevisan 6-3 and 6-1 in the French Open semifinals in Paris on Thursday, securing her spot in the finals. Gauff is now the youngest French Open finalist in 21 years, and will face the No. 1 player in her category, Iga Swiatek, in a highly anticipated match, BBC reports.
According to Eurosport, there were a few errors, challenges with serves and questions about line calls in the first set. But Gauff powered through and was in the lead 46 minutes in. The young tennis star eventually broke in the fourth game and went on to take the match.
Gauff walked off the court and, like a true champion, took a moment to acknowledge the recent mass shootings in the U.S., writing “Peace. End gun violence” on the camera.
Gauff is ranked 23rd, and this is her first Grand Slam victory, Reuters reports.
“I am a little bit in shock right. I have no words to describe how I feel right now,” she said in an interview, according to Reuters. “Honestly, I wasn’t nervous going in today which is a surprise.”
“The only time I get a bit nervous is in the morning. I go for a walk and that clears my head,” she said according to Eurosport.
While Swiatek is No. 1 in the world and has won a Grand Slam before, Gauff is unfazed, and her mentality heading into the finals is positive.
“I am in a mindset where it does not matter,” she said. “I am going to be happy regardless. I am just going to go into it like another match.”
“It is a Grand Slam final,” she continued. “But there’s so much going on in the world right now, especially in the U.S. a lot of stuff is happening, so it is important not to stress over a tennis match.”
