Allyson Felix details ‘powerful experience’ participating in Black Lives Matter protest

By Jun 11, 2020, 9:31 AM EDT
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Allyson Felix said it was “a powerful experience” recently participating in a Black Lives Matter protest, speaking in an interview with TODAY on Thursday.

“I just felt compelled to be out there,” Felix said. “When I heard the cries of George Floyd and calling for his mother, it completely broke my heart. And so, it’s just so important for me to use my voice. And I am hopeful. It’s such a diverse crowd. I feel like there’s a lot of allies. It’s a feeling that I haven’t felt before, so I’m hoping that hope definitely moves to action.”

Felix, a 34-year-old mom to 1-year-old Camryn, wore a black T-shirt with the words “Phenomenally Black” sitting below an Olympic rings necklace in an image shared on Instagram from a protest.

“I hope that, as [Camryn] grows up, things change, but I’ll have to give her the tools to be able to navigate through what is reality right now,” Felix said. “It’s a really sobering reality to have those talks and those conversations, but as soon as I became a mother, I knew that was going to happen, and even long before.”

Since recovering from life-threatening childbirth, Felix fought for maternity protection in athlete contracts. She also testified at the House of Representatives Ways & Means Committee hearing on overcoming racial disparities and social determinants in the maternal mortality crisis.

“I hope that my daughter sees that, through adversity, we have to keep pushing,” she said. “We have to use our voice for the voiceless, and it’s not just about ourselves. I am really fighting for these things for the next generation, for her generation. I want to be able to let her know she was on this journey with me, and hopefully the world looks a lot different and she won’t have to face some of these things that I did.”

Felix, after training on streets and a baseball field near her home, is scheduled to race on July 9 at the Inspiration Games. The meet will include at least 30 athletes spread across three continents.

The exhibition team event will feature Felix racing against Olympic 400m champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo of the Bahamas and world 200m bronze medalist Mujinga Kambundi of Switzerland in a 150m. Felix will cover the distance from California, Miller-Uibo in Florida and Kambundi in Switzerland.

Felix is bidding for her fifth Olympics and to add to her collection of nine medals, tied for the most among female track and field athletes. In her first meet as a mom, Felix made her ninth world championships (strictly in relays) and then broke her tie with Usain Bolt for the most world titles (Felix now has 13).

Felix yearns to compete in Tokyo in an individual event, which will be difficult. Last year, she placed sixth in the 400m at nationals in her first meet as a mom. The top three at trials qualify individually.

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Solidarity🖤✊🏾 #blm

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Taylor Fritz becomes crowd enemy at French Open

Associated PressJun 1, 2023, 7:25 PM EDT
Taylor Fritz French Open
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The French Open crowd was not happy with American player Taylor Fritz after he beat one of their own — indeed, their last man in the bracket — so they booed and whistle relentlessly. Fritz’s response? He told them to shush. Over and over again.

Fritz, a 25-year-old from California who is seeded No. 9 at Roland Garros, got into a back-and-forth with the fans at Court Suzanne Lenglen after his 2-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 comeback victory over 78th-ranked Arthur Rinderknech in the second round on Thursday night.

Rinderknech attempted a lob that landed long on the last point, and Fritz, who had been running toward the baseline to chase the ball, immediately looked up into the stands and pressed his right index finger to his lips to say, essentially, “Hush!”

He held that pose for a bit as he headed back toward the net for a postmatch handshake, then spread his arms wide, wind-milled them a bit as if to egg on the rowdiness, and yelled: “Come on! I want to hear it!”

During the customary winner’s on-court interview that followed, more jeers rained down on Fritz, and 2013 Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli kept pausing her attempts to ask a question into her microphone.

So Fritz again said, “Shhhhh!” and put his finger toward his mouth, while Bartoli unsuccessfully tried to get the spectators to lower their decibel level.

More boos. More whistles.

And the awkwardness continued as both Bartoli and a stadium announcer kept saying, “S’il vous plaît” — “Please!” — to no avail, while Fritz stood there with his arms crossed.

A few U.S. supporters with signs and flags drew Fritz’s attention from the front row, and he looked over and said to them, “I love you guys.”

But the interview was still on hold.

Bartoli tried asking a question in English, which only served to draw more boos.

So Fritz told her he couldn’t hear her. Bartoli moved closer and finally got out a query — but it didn’t seem to matter what her words were.

Fritz, who has been featured on the Netflix docuseries about tennis called “Break Point,” had his hands on his hips and a message on his mind — one reminiscent of Daniil Medvedev’s contretemps with fans at the 2019 U.S. Open.

“I came out and the crowd was so great honestly. Like, the crowd was just so great,” Fritz said, as folks tried to drown out his voice. “They cheered so well for me, I wanted to make sure that I won. Thanks, guys.”

And with that, he exited the stage.

FRENCH OPEN DRAWS: Women | Men | Broadcast Schedule

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French Open: Coco Gauff to face younger opponent for first time at a Grand Slam

By Jun 1, 2023, 5:26 PM EDT
Coco Gauff French Open
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Coco Gauff‘s first 49 Grand Slam main draw singles matches were all against older opponents. Her 50th will be against a younger one.

The sixth-seeded Gauff reached the French Open third round by beating 61st-ranked Austrian Julia Grabher 6-2, 6-3 on Thursday. Gauff, 19, next plays 16-year-old Russian Mirra Andreeva in the round of 32 on Saturday.

“I don’t see age as a factor,” said Gauff, who has practiced with Andreeva. “When you step on the court, you just see your opponent, and you don’t really think about the personal side of things. You just see forehand, backhand, serve, and all the same.”

Gauff made her major debut at age 15 in 2019 by beating Venus Williams at Wimbledon. In her 15 majors, Gauff has usually been the youngest male or female singles player, including most recently at 2022 Wimbledon. She is still the lone teenager in the WTA top 49.

But that may soon change. Youngsters from the Czech Republic and Russia are on the rise. Such as Andreeva, who, at No. 143 in the world and climbing, is the highest-ranked player under the age of 18. And she doesn’t turn 17 until next April. Andreeva dropped just six games in her first two matches, fewest of any woman.

FRENCH OPEN DRAWS: Women | Men | Broadcast Schedule

But Gauff is still in a class of her own among her generation, having at last year’s French Open become the youngest major finalist since Maria Sharapova won Wimbledon at 17. She somehow flew somewhat under the radar into Paris this year with a 4-4 record this spring and in between full-time coaches.

She has now won back-to-back matches for the first time since March, rallying past 71st-ranked Spaniard Rebeka Masarova in the first round and then dispatching an error-prone Grabher, a runner-up at a low-level clay event last week.

The other three seeds in Gauff’s section have all lost, so she would not play a seed until the quarterfinals. And that would be No. 1 Iga Swiatek, who has won all 12 sets they’ve played, including in last year’s French Open final.

“I lost that final, and like for like a week or two, I really thought it was the worst thing ever,” Gauff said. “There’s no point in me revisiting last year. It’s in the past. It was a great tournament, but I’m looking forward for more this week.”

While the men’s draw has been upended by 14-time champion Rafael Nadal‘s pre-event withdrawal and No. 2 seed Daniil Medvedev‘s loss in the first round, the top women have taken care of business.

The top four seeds — Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, American Jessica Pegula and Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan — all reached the third round without dropping a set.

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