Coco Gauff Defends Christian Faith Against Online "Censorship"

After finishing second in the Madrid Open, Coco Gauff spoke from center court and expressed gratitude to her higher power. "First, I'd like to thank my lord and savior Jesus Christ to be here and the opportunity to play in the final," said Gauff.

Fans who have followed Gauff's young career know that she will always give thanks during the most important moments. After winning the 2023 US Open, she knelt and began to pray, which spurred online discourse.

In addition to being very religious, Gauff maintains an active social media presence and is keenly aware of criticism. Yesterday, the top-ranked American women's player used an open-ended question to take on a larger debate.

"Hopefully I can be back in this position next year and a chance to fight for the bigger trophy" 🙏

Coco Gauff speaks after finishing runner-up at this year's #MMOpen pic.twitter.com/mUrUrlARGn
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) May 3, 2025

On Tuesday, Gauff participated in the media day for the Italian Open (Internazionali BNL d'Italia) and was asked about her faith. The one-time Grand Slam champion answered the question and took a swipe at her detractors on social media.

The media member said, "I saw your runner-up speech in Madrid, which was quite inspirational. Can you explain how important is your faith and your belief in Jesus?"

Gauff replied, "Yeah, it's super important for me. I've said it in every speech. I know there's like a whole discourse about it online, but I've done it every speech that I've been on tour."

thank you madrid❤️
not the outcome I was hoping for today but a lot to be proud of. leaving here with my head up and more motivation to work even harder to do better next time🙏🏾 #Godstiming pic.twitter.com/h4ieLgM3oD
— Coco Gauff (@CocoGauff) May 3, 2025

She explained her point of view, "I'm not out here trying to force anybody to believe in anything. I share my beliefs for people who also believe in it, as well."

The 21-year-old warned against what she saw at censorship, "Yeah, I think for me you come to a point where you start criticizing people for saying anything, whether it's religion, or pride in their sexuality or anything like that, that's a bit of censorship."

Guff concluded her remarks, "I think we all should be able to do what we want to do as long as it's not harming other people. For me, it's important to share it and let other people know it helps me; it could also help someone else in their life."

I hate to break this to you SportsCenter but Coco Gauff was not “soaking it all in” at this moment. She was praying. She has been very open about her Christian faith in the past. It seems pretty obvious what she is doing here. https://t.co/UOZ6zoCEPC
— Tony Dungy (@TonyDungy) September 10, 2023

Gauff is currently the WTA World No. 3 with a record of 19-7 with one title. Her campaign in Rome begins on Friday, May 9. She will face the winner of Arianna Zucchini and Victoria Mboko in the second round.

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