Coco Gauff reaches Australian Open quarterfinals, laments TikTok shutdown
The world number two wrote ‘RIP TikTok’ on a camera after the match in reference to the app’s discontinuation in the US.
Coco Gauff.
Coco Gauff of the US writes ‘RIP TikTok USA’ after defeating Belinda Bencic of Switzerland in a fourth-round match at the Australian Open in Melbourne, January 19, 2025 [Asanka Brendon Ratnayake/AP]
Published On 19 Jan 2025
19 Jan 2025
Coco Gauff wrote “RIP TikTok USA” and drew a broken heart on a camera lens shortly after reaching the Australian Open quarterfinal after the popular app, used by 170 million Americans, stopped working in the United States.
TikTok disappeared from Apple and Google app stores in advance of a law that takes effect on Sunday, requiring the shutdown of the social media platform.
The former US Open champion, who has more than 750,000 followers on TikTok, said at a news conference she would probably have more time to pursue other interests with the app inaccessible on her phone in Melbourne.