On Saturday (Sept. 9), 19-year-old Coco Gauff defeated Aryna Sabalenka in the U.S. Open women’s single finals, becoming the youngest American to claim the title since Serena Williams won in 1999 at the age of 17.
Gauff’s victory has garnered praise from fans, many of them high profile celebrities and politicians, including President Joe Biden and former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.
“I feel like I’m a little bit in shock in this moment,” Gauff told ESPN, noting that her loss in the French Open last year was heartbreaking. “But I realized God [puts] you through tribulations and trials and that makes this moment even sweeter than I could have imagined.”
Immediately after recording the victory, Gauff knelt by a bench near the court in a moment of silent prayer.
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SportsCenter captured the moment on film, posting it to X (formerly Twitter). However, SportCenter’s coverage of the prayer soon came under fire from people who thought the caption accompanying the video was out of place.
“@CocoGauff took a moment to soak it all in after winning her first Grand Slam title,” the post read, resulting in a wave of responses from fans who pointed out that the 19-year-old tennis star was obviously praying.
“It’s called ‘prayer,’” one person stated. Another said, “Soaking it all in looks a lot like praying thankfully to God.”
“I think there’s another word for this. Not sure but think it starts with a p,” joked Christian author Drew Dyck.
Jared C. Wilson, a pastor, author, and professor at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, joked, “Soak it all in without ceasing,” a reference to Paul’s encouragement to pray without ceasing, given in 1 Thessalonians 5:17. Wilson also remarked that his grandmother was “a real soaking it all in warrior.”
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Outreach Magazine editor-in-chief Ed Stetzer posted, “When you need a religion reporter on your team.”
