Coco Gauff cited LeBron James, Serena Williams, Colin Kaepernick and Naomi Osaka as her inspirations after the tennis star wrote "Peace, end gun violence" on a camera at the French Open.
The 18-year-old overcame Martina Trevisan in the semi-final at Roland Garros with ease, recording a 6-3 6-1 victory to book her maiden single's grand slam final appearance.
That made the world number 23 the youngest American female finalist in Paris since Monica Seles in 1991 and the youngest overall since Kim Clijsters in 2001.
Gauff has not dropped a set en route to the final, where she faces the in-form Iga Swiatek on Saturday, but much of her post-match focus was on the ongoings back in the United States.
The USA is still reeling from a school shooting in Uvalde, Texas just over a week ago in which 19 children and two teachers were killed.
In the wake of the tragedy, multiple high-profile sportspeople, including Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr, have called for changes to gun laws in the USA, and Gauff joined that list on Thursday.
"It's important, just as a person in the world, regardless of tennis player or not," the teenage tennis star said. "I think for me it was just especially important just being in Europe and being where I know people globally around the world are for sure watching.
"I think that this is a problem in other parts of the world, but especially in America it's a problem that's, frankly, been happening over some years but obviously now it's getting more attention.
"But it's been an issue for years. For me, it's kind of close to home. I had some friends that were a part of the Parkland shooting [in 2018].
"I remember watching that whole experience like pretty much firsthand, seeing and having friends go through that whole experience. Luckily they were able to make it out of it. I just think it's crazy, I think I was maybe 14 or 13 when that happened, and still nothing has changed.
"I think that was just a message for the people back at home to watch and for people who are all around the world to watch. I know that it's probably not [going to] – hopefully it gets into the heads of people in office to change things."
Gauff suggested her post-match scribble on the television camera was not pre-meditated and instead came after seeing reports of four people being shot by a gunman in an Oklahoma hospital on Wednesday.
"I really didn't know what I was going to write even moments walking to the camera, and it just felt right in that moment and to write that," she added. "I woke up this morning and I saw there was another shooting, and I think it's just crazy.
"I know that it's getting more attention now. I definitely think there needs to be some reform put into place. I think now especially being 18 I've really been trying to educate myself around certain situations, because now I have the right to vote and I want to use that wisely."
Gauff joins a long list of athletes that are proactively using their platform and audiences to speak on matters they feel passionately about.
As for her inspirations, Gauff listed the likes of NBA star James, fellow tennis players Williams and Osaka, and NFL's Kaepernick, who popularised taking the knee to stand against police brutality and racism.
"I would say LeBron James, Serena, Billie Jean, Colin, the list goes on, Naomi, it goes on really about those issues," Gauff continued. "I think now athletes are more fine with speaking out about stuff like this.
"I feel like a lot of times we're put in a box that people always say, 'Oh, sports and politics should stay separate' and all this. And I say yes, but also at the same time I'm a human first before I'm a tennis player.
"If I'm interested in this, I wouldn't even consider gun violence politics; I think that's just life in general. I don't think that's political at all.
"So of course I'm going to care about these issues and speak out about these issues. When people make those comments, I'm not going to be an athlete forever.
"There is going to be a time when I retire and all this, and I'm still going to be a human. So of course I care about these topics. Sport gives you the platform to maybe make that message reach more people."
Sinner and Berrettini send defending champions Italy into Davis Cup final
Jannik Sinner's victory over Alex de Minaur clinched Italy's place in another Davis Cup final, with Matteo Berrettini also victorious as the defending champions beat Australia 2-0.
Italy won the Davis Cup for the first time since 1976 last year, and they will have an opportunity to defend their crown against the Netherlands on Sunday.
Former Wimbledon finalist Berrettini got the ball rolling with an entertaining 6-7 (6-8) 6-3 7-5 victory over Thanasi Kokkinakis, not surrendering a break after losing the opener in a tie-break.
That teed up Sinner to close out Italy's victory, with the world number one overcoming De Minaur 6-3 6-4, the same scoreline he beat the Australian by at the ATP Finals earlier this month.
Speaking after his victory in Malaga, Sinner said: "It means a lot. It was a tough encounter, playing Alex. We know each other quite well now, so I have to be very careful every time.
"It's a very tough challenge for me, so I was looking forward to this one. Obviously, it helped a lot that Matteo won the singles today. He played amazing tennis. It was very high quality.
"Hopefully, this can give us some confidence for [Sunday]. It's going to be a very difficult and tough day for us and also the Netherlands."
Data Debrief: Back-to-back for Italy
Italy's men are looking to follow in the footsteps of their female counterparts, who won the Billie Jean King Cup earlier this week.
They are just the third nation in history to make back-to-back finals at both the Davis Cup and the Federation/Billie Jean King Cup, after the United States (1963-64, 1978-79, 1981-82 and 1990-91) and Australia (1963-64 and 1964-65).
Djokovic appoints Murray as coach for Australian Open
Novak Djokovic has announced his long-term former rival Andy Murray as his coach for the Australian Open in 2025.
Murray, a three-time Grand Slam winner, announced his retirement earlier this year and played his final match at the Paris Olympics in August.
He will join Djokovic's team in the off-season and coach him through the opening grand slam of the year, which begins on January 12.
This will be Murray's first coaching role since retiring following a 19-year career.
"We played each other since we were boys. 25 years of being rivals, of pushing each other beyond our limits," Djokovic said in a video on social media.
"We had some of the most epic battles in our sport. They called us game changers, risk-takers, history makers.
"I thought our story may be over - turns out it has one final chapter.
"It's time for one of my toughest opponents to step into my corner. Welcome onboard coach, Andy Murray."
Djokovic failed to win a major title for the first time since 2017, though he did clinch a long-awaited Olympic gold medal in Paris.
The Serb is currently level with Margaret Court for the most major singles titles by any player. He has a good record in Australia though, winning 10 times in Melbourne, beating Murray in four of those finals.
Murray, who beat Djokovic to win the US Open title in 2012 and Wimbledon the following year, says he hopes they can achieve success together.
"I'm going to be joining Novak's team in the off-season, helping him to prepare for the Australian Open," Murray said.
"I'm really excited for it and looking forward to spending time on the same side of the net as Novak for a change, helping him to achieve his goals."
Girona 4-1 Espanyol: Miovski bags double as hosts ride on first-half blitz
Bojan Miovski scored twice as Girona thrashed Espanyol 4-1 in LaLiga at Estadi Municipal de Montilivi on Saturday.
Bryan Gil and Ladislav Krejci were also on the scoresheet as the home side raced to a 4-0 lead inside the first half hour, with Javi Puado scoring the visiting side's only goal after the break.
After the match was halted because of a fan being taken ill in the crowd, Gil opened the scoring when he unleashed a stunning long-range strike into the bottom corner with four minutes on the clock.
Gil was behind the second goal for Michel's side too, as he capitalised on a defensive error and crossed to Miovski, who made it 2-0 in the 16th minute before the pair combined again for a third five minutes later.
Donny van de Beek's header from Yaser Asprilla's corner was pushed in by Krejci for Girona's fourth in the 27th minute.
Espanyol got a consolation goal 10 minutes into the second half when Puado hit a long-range strike that found the back of Paulo Gazzaniga's net.
Girona, last season's surprise package, climbed to fifth in LaLiga with 21 points, while Espanyol are 19th and in the relegation zone with 10 points.
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