'I'm so proud of you' - Michelle Obama congratulates Coco Gauff for reaching French Open final

Former First Lady of the United States Michelle Obama has congratulated Coco Gauff for progressing to the French Open final in Paris. The 18-year-old American progressed to her first Grand Slam singles final after she produced a 6-3 6-1 win over Italy's Martina Trevisan on Court Philippe-Chatrier on Thursday. Ad/> After the match, Gauff was quick to condemn gun violence in response to a shooting at a Tulsa medical centre this week and in Uvalde, Texas last week.

/> Roland-GarrosGustavo Fernandez / Shingo Kunieda — Stéphane Houdet / Nicolas Peifer — Roland-Garros HighlightsAN HOUR AGO Gauff wrote 'Peace. End gun violence. Coco.' on the camera lens then spoke in detail about the sensitive topic in her press conference after the match.

Obama, a long-time admirer of Gauff, sent her a congratulatory message on Twitter for reaching the final at Roland-Garros. She tweeted: «Congrats, Coco Gauff I'm so proud of you, and I will be rooting for you all the way!» /> Obama has made her support of Gauff public in the past. She tweeted «Coco is terrific!» when Gauff, who was 15 at the time, beat Polona Hercog in the third round of Wimbledon back in 2019.

/> Gauff responded: «She's one of my role models, so it was just cool to see that she knows I exist.» On August 1 2019, the pair met in person for the first time while Gauff was competing at the Citi Open in Washington. Obama tweeted afterwards: «Thrilled to visit with Coco Gauff today. A wonderful young woman who's showing us that we don't have to wait to see what the next generation can do.» Gauff chases French Open sweep as she makes doubles final alongside Pegula Evert reacts to Gauff's strong 'end gun violence' message on camera lens Gauff replied: «Today I got to meet my idol