Tennis star Coco Gauff says being a Black woman in the United States has been difficult, a declaration that drew a sharply mocking response from The Gateway Pundit because of her extraordinary financial success.

Gauff made the comments in January while appearing at the Australian Open. The discussion turned political when an interviewer asked about conditions in the United States during the second Trump administration.

The article identifies Gauff as the highest paid female athlete in the world and says she earned more than $33 million last year. That reported total included $8 million from competition and $25 million from endorsements.

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The publication contrasted those earnings with Gauff’s remarks about hardship. It also criticized her name recognition and speaking skills while portraying her comments as tiresome and disconnected from her status as a wealthy athlete.

The interviewer began with congratulations before raising what was described as a heavier subject.

The interviewer asked, “This is a bit of a heavier question to start, but you’re usually pretty outspoken about political issues, and I’m curious how you feel about the state of the US one year into the second Trump administration.”

Gauff initially pointed to her previous public statements and expressed a desire for peace.

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She said, “I mean, I think I’ve already stated my opinions in the past on how I feel about it. And yeah, I mean, I hope forward that we can have a lot more peace in our country.”

She also called for greater kindness in political and social conversations. “More kindness when the way we speak to each other about different topics and things like that,” Gauff said.

The tennis star then indicated that discussing the political climate had become exhausting for her.

“But yeah, obviously I’ve been pretty vocal about how I felt. And yeah, I don’t feel at this point— I feel a bit fatigued talking about it just because of the fact that it is hard.”

Gauff connected that fatigue to her experiences as a Black woman and to what she sees happening to marginalized communities.

She said, “Also, I think being a Black woman in this country and having to experience things even online and seeing your marginalized communities being affected And knowing that I can only really donate and speak out, and I try my best to do that.”

Her response returned to the idea that the country should continue progressing beyond its current condition.

“But yeah, I just hope that as time continues that we can reach a state where we’re not currently in and we keep moving forward,” she said.

Gauff also mentioned posting a video of Martin Luther King the previous day. She said the message was that people must continue moving ahead even when circumstances are not as calm as she would prefer.

The Gateway Pundit responded by arguing that Gauff could have used her remarks to denounce BLM, antifa, or DSA communists.

That criticism was presented as something Gauff had failed to understand or address. The publication did not offer any response from Gauff to its complaints about the organizations it named.

The piece closed its commentary with another jab at the tennis player’s wealth and complaints. “This really gets old. Maybe she can go cry on billionaire Oprah’s shoulder."

Gauff’s $33 million in reported annual earnings did not change her stated view that being a Black woman in the country can be hard.

At the same time, Gauff’s actual comments focused on peace, kindness, fatigue, marginalized communities, donations, public advocacy, and continued progress. The publication instead framed the exchange as a wealthy athlete lamenting hardship despite reaching the top of women’s sports earnings.

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