Coco Gauff has admitted she had a feeling a climate change protest would take place at the US Open following her win over Karolina Muchova.
The teenager stormed to the final of the competition with a 6-4, 7-5 victory at the Arthur Ashe Stadium on Friday morning.
While Gauff was outstanding, however, the youngster had to contend with a protest from climate change protestors.
Shouting started to disrupt play and three individuals were seen wearing t-shirts with the slogan 'End Fossil Fuels' in the stands, with a fourth also present.
Coco Gauff's US Open win over Karolina Muchova was interrupted by climate change protestors
REUTERS
One of the protestors glued their bare feet to the concrete floor and there was a delay of nearly 50 minutes as a result.
Gauff, speaking after her win, has now revealed she had a feeling there would be some sort of remonstration at the tournament.
Talking to ESPN, the 19-year-old said: "The crazy thing is this morning, I told myself, 'I bet there's gonna be a climate change protest in the final.'
"I didn't think it was gonna be in the semi-final.
“I feel like something's gonna happen this weekend because they did it at French Open, they did it at Wimbledon. Nothing happened at US Open yet.
“I was like, maybe the trend will continue. So that's what I was thinking about.”
Gauff didn't condemn the protestors and instead revealed she supported their cause.
"I always speak about preaching about what you feel and what you believe in," stated the US Open star.
"It was done in a peaceful way, so I can’t get too mad at it.
"Obviously I don’t want it to happen when I’m winning up 6-4, 1-0, and I wanted the momentum to keep going.
“But hey, if that’s what they felt they needed to do to get their voices heard, I can’t really get upset at it.”
On the delay, Gauff continued: "We didn’t know how long it was going to take.
"We were talking to the supervisor and security. You know, they (said) it could be as quick as five minutes or as long as an hour.
“It was tough to figure out if we stay warm or conserve energy.”
And Gauff believes it is a 'defining moment' in tennis history, too, with protests taking place in other sports as well.
“Throughout history, moments like this are definitely defining moments," stated the American.
"I believe, you know, in climate change. I don’t really know exactly what ... they were protesting.
"I know it was about the environment. I 100 per cent believe in that. I think there are things we can do better.
“Would I prefer it not happening in my match — 100 per cent, yeah.
“I’m not going to sit here and lie.”
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
Coco Gauff was too strong for Karolina Muchova in their US Open semi-final showdown
REUTERS
A USTA statement on the stadium protesters read: "Following the first game of the second set in the Gauff-Muchova match, play was halted due to a protest conducted by four spectators.
"Three of the four protesters were escorted out of the stadium without further incident.
"The fourth protester affixed their bare feet to the floor of the seating bowl.
"Due to the nature of this action, NYPD and medical personnel were needed in order to safely remove this individual from the stadium. The four protesters were taken into NYPD custody.
"In total, 49 minutes elapsed before play resumed."
