The 2021 French Open marked a pivotal moment in the career of Japanese tennis sensation Naomi Osaka. Despite her victory at the Australian Open earlier in the year, she was considered a top contender at Roland Garros. However, media scrutiny began to affect her mental well-being, leading to her withdrawal from the tournament. This incident garnered significant attention and sparked discussions about mental health. Since then, Osaka has been a vocal advocate for this cause. Similarly, American tennis prodigy Coco Gauff has used her platform to address another pressing social issue. As a result of their efforts, Judy Murray, mother of Andy Murray, has expressed admiration for the two athletes.
Judy Murray’s special words for Coco Gauff and Naomi Osaka
Recently, Judy featured in a roundtable discussion about representation in sports. During that show that is to be aired on TNT Sports on October 19, Murray took the examples of the likes of Osaka, Gauff, and Jabeur in tennis.
Talking about it to TNT Sports, she said, “If I look at Coco and Naomi Osaka, they’re both young women who’ve spoken out and used their voices really well, whether it’s Black Lives Matter, whether it’s mental health, pressures of being in the public eye and so forth.”
Further, Judy went on to add, “I think that’s one of the things that we have to do on the female side, is to encourage women and girls to speak up, because you wouldn’t get any change if you don’t talk about it.”
On the court, Gauff has caught everyone’s attention with her performances. On the other hand, she has been quite vocal about fighting against social issues off the court. She once revealed why she will always continue to do so.
Why Coco Gauff will always remain vocal about pressing social issues?
Last year, Gauff had a stellar French Open campaign where she reached the finals before losing against Iga Swiatek. During an interview post the tournament, she went on to reveal her fight for gender and racial equality.
Speaking about why she will continue her fight, Gauff said, “For me, I always talk about issues that I don’t feel are political rights, but are human rights. I have Democrats and Republicans and independents all throughout my family. My dad always told me to make an opinion on my own.”
coco Gauff will next be seen in action at the WTA Finals. Can she finish her season on a high by winning the season-ending tournament? Let us know your views in the comments below.
