Coco Gauff made her famous Australian Open victory over Belinda Bencic with a nod to TikTok as the popular app became unavailable to Americans at home.
A heartbroken Gauff wrote “RIP TikTok USA” on the camera lens after beating Bencic, 5-7, 6-2, 6-1, to reach the quarterfinals of the season’s first Grand Slam. Gauff had more than 750,000 followers before the app was shut down.
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Coco Gauff writes “RIP Tik Tok USA” after defeating Belinda Bencic at the Australian Open in Melbourne, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)
“I couldn’t approach him after the match. I honestly thought I could get away with it because I was in Australia,” she told reporters after the match, via ESPN. “I hope it comes back… It’s really sad. I’ve been using the app since it was called Musical.ly.
“I love TikTok. It’s like an escape. I honestly do it before matches. I guess it will make me read more books – to be a more productive person, probably. Maybe it’s a blessing in disguise.”
TikTok has officially become unavailable to Americans user on Saturday late evening. Anyone with the app received a message that read: “Sorry, TikTok is currently unavailable.
“A law has been passed in the US that bans TikTok. Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok for now.
Coco Gauff returns a shot against Belinda Bencic at the Australian Open in Melbourne, Sunday, January 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)
“We are happy that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to restore TikTok once he takes office. Stay tuned!”
On the eve of his inauguration, President-elect Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Sunday that he would sign an executive order to extend the time the ban takes effect.
“I’m asking the companies not to let TikTok stay in the dark! On Monday, I will issue an executive order to extend the period before the legal bans go into effect, so we can make a deal to protect our national security,” he wrote. . “The order will also confirm that there will be no liability for any company that helped keep TikTok from going down before my order.
“Americans deserve to see our exciting inauguration on Monday, as well as other events and conversations.”
The TikTok logo is shown on a phone in San Francisco, on January 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
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Trump added that he wanted the US to have a “50% ownership position in the joint venture”.
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