Coco Gauff pays tribute to TikTok at the Australian Open

It was noted by Koko Gauf Australian Open victory over Belinda Bencic with a bow on TikTok as the popular app became unavailable to Americans back home.

A heartbroken Gauff wrote “RIP TikTok USA” on camera after beating Bencic 5-7, 6-2, 6-1 to reach the quarterfinals of the first Grand Slam of the season. Gauff had over 750,000 followers before the app was taken down.

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Coco Gauff writes “RIP Tik Tok USA” after defeating Belinda Bencic at the Australian Open in Melbourne on 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,” she told reporters after the match, via ESPN. “Hopefully it will come back… It’s very 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 – be a more productive person, probably. Maybe it’s happiness in disguise.”

TikTok is officially unavailable for Americans users late Saturday night. Anyone who had the app received a message saying, “Unfortunately, TikTok is currently unavailable.

“A law has been passed in the US that bans TikTok. Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok just yet.

Coco Gauff hits a shot against Belinda Bencic at the Australian Open in Melbourne, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

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“We are fortunate that President Trump has made it clear that he will work with us on a solution to restore TikTok when he takes office. Stay tuned!”

On the eve of his inauguration, President-elect Trump wrote on Sunday in a message to Truth Social that he would sign an executive order extending the ban’s effective date.

“I’m asking the company not to let TikTok stay in the dark! On Monday, I will issue an executive order extending the period of time until the law’s bans go into effect so we can strike a deal to protect our national security,” he wrote. . “The order also confirms that there will be no liability for any company that helped TikTok not go down before my order.

“Americans deserve to see our exciting inauguration on Monday, as well as other events and conversations.”