"Peace, End Gun Violence": Coco Gauff Writes On TV Camera After Reaching French Open Final

Coco Gauff became the youngest Grand Slam finalist in 18 years at the French Open on Thursday and used her landmark performance to demand action on mass shootings in the United States by writing "peace, end gun violence" on a courtside TV camera. American star Gauff, 18, will face world number one Iga Swiatek in the final on Saturday after defeating Martina Trevisan 6-3, 6-1 in her semi-final. Before penning her plea for gun control at home, she insisted that recent tragedies mean she will treat victory or defeat in the championship match with equal equanimity.

"Yeah it's a Grand Slam final but there are so many things going on in the world, especially in the U.S. -- I think it's not important to stress over a tennis match," she said in her on-court TV interview.

"Peace. End Gun Violence. Coco"18-year-old @CocoGauff's message after advancing to the #RolandGarros final. pic.twitter.com/ohHlV2osAU

Gauff was talking just hours after a gunman killed at least four people at a hospital building in Tulsa, Oklahoma, -- the latest in a string of mass shootings across the United States in recent weeks.

The killings come as Texas families bury their dead after a school shooting left 19 young children dead just eight days earlier.

Winning players at the French Open are invited to write messages on the courtside TV camera. Usually they are light-hearted, often bland declarations.

However, Gauff seized her chance in front of a global TV audience, hoping that her gun control message will "get into the heads of people in office to hopefully change things".

"The first thing my dad said to me after I got off court, I'm proud of you and I love what you wrote on the camera."

Gauff said she had not planned to write the message should she