"Crazy time to be a Floridian, especially a Black one... We aren't happy" - Coco Gauff laments political situation in home state, urges youth to vote

Coco Gauff recently talked about the current political situation in her home state of Florida concerning the book ban by Governor Ron DeSantis. She also appealed to the youth to cast their votes in the upcoming presidential election in November 2024.

Gauff fell short of revealing who she was campaigning for in the upcoming election but urged the people, especially the youth to vote.

The 2023 US Open champion told AP News that it was a 'crazy' time to be a black Florida native and expressed her grief at the way the government offices operated.

"It’s a crazy time to be Floridian especially a black one at that. But I’ll say for most people, especially in South Florida, we aren’t happy with the current state of our government in Florida, especially everything with the books and just the way our office operates," she told AP News.

Gauff put the onus on youth to be the changemakers by exercising their right to vote.

"But At the end of the day, it comes down to the youth and the community being outspoken but also standing on business and going to the polls and voting. So I encourage everyone to vote and use your voice regardless of who you vote for."

She also said that there was no point in complaining if the community was not ready to take action by voting.

"There’s no point in complaining (about) the political climate of the world if you don’t exercise your right to vote. That’s just how I was raised, personally. Being in Florida, I mean, I will say, day by day, is not something I think about often but it is something I am aware of."

The World No. 3 was hopeful that she would inspire the youth to vote. She said that everybody should use their power:

"Hopefully, I can encourage people to vote and especially people in the youth. I feel like sometimes in my generation, people think their vote doesn’t count, but I think it's important to vote and everyone exercise their right to vote. I know other countries it's mandatory, in the US it's not so. We should all just use our voices and use the power that we have."

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Coco Gauff doesn't shy away from sharing her opinion

Coco Gauff at the ASB Classic

Coco Gauff has always been vocal about her opinion on various topics. As a 16-year-old, she sent a strong message when she spoke at a protest in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd in 2020.

She said that people should love each other, exercise their right to vote, and use their voices irrespective of their platform. She added (via BBC):

"It breaks my heart because I'm fighting for the future for my brothers. I'm fighting for the future of my future kids. I'm fighting for the future of my future grandchildren."

Coco Gauff, at the 2024 Qatar Open press conference, said that she would continue to be the voice of the voiceless.

"Yeah, I think for me it's always important to speak up if there is issues that I care about. I think it's important that I continue to just speak up and be a voice for the voiceless," she said.

Coco Gauff is set to compete at the 2024 French Open.