 "US tennis star Coco Gauff on TikTok facing ban: 'I love TikTok. It’s like an escape'")
American tennis star Coco Gauff has come out in support of the TikTok app after it went offline for users in the North American country on Saturday due to a ban. TikTok was banned in the USA due to concerns over its link with the Chinese government, however, it resumed its services on Sunday after President-elect Donald Trump granted the app a reprieve.
Gauff, who has 750,000 followers on TikTok, first showed her feelings over the ban by writing “RIP TikTok USA” on a TV camera lens at the Australian Open 2025 on Sunday after reaching the quarter-finals. The 20-year-old Gauff had defeated Belinda Bencic 5-7, 6-2, 6-1 in her Round of 16 match.
Gauff: ’ I love TikTok’
In the press conference after the match, Gauff revealed that she wasn’t able to use the app despite being in Australia and added she hopes it will be back.
“I could not access it after my match. I honestly thought I would be able to get away with it because I was in Australia,” Gauff said. “Hopefully it comes back. … It’s really sad. I’ve been on the app since it was called Musical.ly. I love TikTok. It’s like an escape. I honestly do that before matches. I guess it will force me to read books more — be more of a productive human, probably. Maybe it’s a blessing in disguise."
Gauff has often used TikTok to connect with her fans by copying the latest trends.
“I feel this is the third or fourth time this has happened. This time it’s just like, ‘Whatever.’ If I wake up and it doesn’t work, fine. I’m done wasting my time figuring it out,” Gauff had said earlier during the Australian Open 2025. “I see there’s a new app called RedNote that a lot of people are migrating over to. So I feel, regardless, people are going to be fine because people are always going to migrate to another app.”
Gauff: ‘I hope TikTok will stay’
The world No.3 added that TikTok had helped several creators “make money” through the app and helped her connect with people.
“…a great thing for a lot of small businesses in our country, and a lot of creators make money on it and have the chance to spread stories. Personally, me, a lot of great stories I’ve heard are from TikTok and connecting with people has been (through) TikTok. I hope it will stay, (but) obviously I don’t know all the security issues and things like that.”
Trump announced Sunday on his Truth Social account that he plans to issue an executive order granting ByteDance, TikTok’s China-based parent company, additional time to secure an approved buyer. TikTok later confirmed it is “in the process” of restoring service to US users.
The app had been removed from major app stores, including those run by Apple and Google, and its website informed users that the platform was no longer available. The blackout occurred just hours before a US federal law banning TikTok was set to take effect.
The law prohibits Apple and Google app stores from offering TikTok, requiring ByteDance to sell the platform or face a nationwide ban.
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