Coco Gauff celebrated her Australian Open victory over Belinda Bencic with a nod to TikTok as the popular app was made unavailable to Americans at home.
Gauff wrote on a camera lens “RIP TikTok USA” 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 discontinued.
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Coco Gauff writes “RIP Tik Tok USA” after defeating Belinda Bencic at the Australian Open in Melbourne, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)
“I couldn’t access it after my match. I honestly thought I would be able to get away with it because I was in Australia,” she told reporters after the match via ESPN. “Hopefully it’ll come back…. It’s really sad. I’ve been on the app since it was called Musical.ly.
“I love TikTok. It’s like an escape. I honestly do that before games. I think it will force me to read books more – probably be more of a productive person. Maybe it’s a blessing in disguise.”
TikTok was officially made unavailable to US users late Saturday night. Anyone with the app was hit with a message that read: “Sorry, TikTok is not available right now.
“A law banning TikTok has been passed in the U.S. Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok right now.
Coco Gauff returns a shot from 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 indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok when he takes office. Please 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 frame for when the ban would take effect.
“I am asking companies not to let TikTok remain in the dark! I will issue an executive order on Monday to extend the period before the law’s ban goes into effect so we can make a deal 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 going dark prior to my order.
“Americans deserve to see our exciting inauguration on Monday, as well as other events and conversations.”
A TikTok logo appears 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% ownership position in a joint venture.”
