Coco Gauff celebrated her Australian Open victory over Belinda Bencic with a nod to TikTok, as the popular app was not available to Americans at home.
Gauff wrote “RIP TikTok USA” on a camera lens with a broken heart after defeating Bencic, 5-7, 6-2, 6-1 to advance to the quarterfinals of the first Grand Slam event of the season . 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, January 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)
“I couldn’t access it after my match. I honestly thought I could get away with it because I was in Australia,” he told reporters after the match, via ESPN. “I hope it comes back… It’s so sad. I’ve been on the app since it was called Musical.ly.
“I love TikTok. It’s like an escape. Honestly, I do it before games. I guess it will force me to read more books and probably be a more productive human being. Maybe it’s a blessing in disguise.”
TikTok officially became unavailable to US users on Saturday night. Anyone who had the app received a message saying, “Sorry, TikTok is not available at this time.”
“In the US, a law has been passed banning TikTok. Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok for now.
Coco Gauff returns a shot by Belinda Bencic at the Australian Open in Melbourne, Sunday, January 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)
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“We are fortunate 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 until the ban takes effect.
“I’m asking companies not to let TikTok remain in the dark! I will issue an executive order on Monday to extend the time period before the law’s bans go into effect, so we can reach an agreement to protect our national security,” he wrote. . “The order will also confirm that there will be no liability for any company that helped prevent TikTok from disappearing before my order.
“Americans deserve to see our exciting inauguration on Monday, as well as other events and conversations.”
A TikTok logo is displayed on a phone in San Francisco on January 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Trump added that he wanted the United States to have a “50% stake in a joint venture.”
