More than a win: Coco Gauff inspired by "thanks for being you" audience backing her and Naomi Osaka

SAN JOSE HIGHLIGHTS: Gauff outhits Osaka in second round

Coco Gauff breathed a big sigh of relief after holding off a late run by Naomi Osaka in San Jose on Thursday night. She was so relieved that once she started talking in her post-match interview, she couldn’t stop.

And for good reason. Up 6-4, 5-1, and twice at triple match point, Gauff had watched with mounting unease as the four-time Grand Slam champion willed herself back to 5-4. But this match had belonged to Gauff from the start—it was one of the best of the 18-year-old’s career so far—and, on her eighth match point, she finally dug down and came up with a blazing, unreturnable second serve to earn her second win in four tries against Osaka.

But it wasn’t the victory that seemed to make Gauff happiest. It was the chance to share the stage with Osaka, in front of an audience that, as she put it, “actually support us and support what we say, and care about us no matter how well we do.”

“There’s so much love for both of us on the court,” Gauff said. “I could feel the energy.”

More specifically, Gauff gave a shout-out to a man in a Lebron James Lakers jersey who was holding what she called “probably the best sign I’ve ever seen.” It was a poster in the colors of the rainbow pride flag, with the words “Thanks for being you” written beneath side-by-side photos of Gauff and Osaka.

“I feel like people want us to win all the time,” Gauff said, “but seeing signs like that definitely helps a lot…Seeing a sign like that makes us feel really appreciated.”

That simple sentiment “thanks for being you” struck a chord with Gauff. She and Osaka are two players who haven’t been shy about voicing their political opinions.

“Me and her in this sport really speak out on these issues,” Gauff said of Osaka. “It’s not as common, especially in tennis, to talk about these things.”

There has been a lot for Gauff to speak out about in recent months. In March, the Floridian said she was against her state’s “Don’t say gay” bill, which limits discussion of sexual orientation in public schools.

“I think these conversations are important, and for me, who has friends in the LGBTQ+ community, I couldn’t imagine not being able to talk about your identity,” she said in March. “I feel that’s something that is normal.”

Two months later, when the U.S. was in the midst of a wave of mass shootings, including the elementary school massacre in Uvalde, Texas, Gauff wrote “End gun violence” on a camera lens after winning her semifinal at Roland Garros. Again, she made the issue personal.

“I had some friends that were a part of the Parkland shooting,” she said, referring to the 2017 mass shooting at a Florida high school near her hometown. “I remember watching that whole experience pretty much firsthand, seeing and having friends go through that whole experience.”

Two months after that, Gauff had another issue to address: The Dobbs Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade.

“I feel bad for future women and women now, but I also feel bad for those who protested for this,” she said. “To see that decision be reversed, I just think that’s history repeating itself and I feel like, at least from my reading and researching because I do like history. Having this decision reversed just feels like we’re almost going backwards.”

I think these conversations are important, and for me, who has friends in the LGBTQ+ community, I couldn’t imagine not being able to talk about your identity. I feel that’s something that is normal. —Coco Gauff

Gauff’s tone in these discussions is always natural, never strident. She lets us know the issues are personal to her, and that she cares about the history and the pioneers behind them. In San Jose on Thursday, she talked about how much it meant to her to see Billie Jean King’s and the Williams sisters’ names on the list of past champions at the tournament. Then she stopped and said, with a laugh, “Let’s clap for that.” Speaking about politics has always come naturally for Gauff, but after turning 18 in March, she says she wants to make sure she’s a fully informed voter.

“I think now especially being 18, I’ve really been trying to educate myself around certain situations, because now I have the right to vote and I want to use that wisely,” she said.

Gauff has been lauded for her willingness to make her views public. But it was clear on Thursday that doing so comes at a price. For every person who agrees with your opinion on a hot-button issue and loves you for it, there will be another who doesn’t. It can’t be easy for a young athlete to know that she’ll alienate some fans with her sincere and well-meant words, and that she’ll hear about it over social media. Seeing a sign from a supporter in San Jose, who was behind her whether she won or lost, meant a lot to her.

“I know I talked a lot,” Gauff said with another laugh at the end of her long, happy, post-match spiel last night. Speaking for myself, I’m always happy to listen.