U.S. tennis star Ben Shelton was not among the American players asked whether they’re embarrassed to play for the United States during this week’s press conferences leading up to the Australian Open.
However, he gave his answer anyway, convincingly.
After a victory over Valentin Vacherot in the third round of the Australian Open early Saturday morning, Melton made his way over to the camera, where he signed the lens, writing: “USA ‘til it’s backwards.”
The expression conveys resolute, unchanging support.
On Thursday and Friday, Owen Lewis, who writes for outlets including the New York Times’ The Athletic, asked American players for their thoughts “in the context of the last year of everything that’s been happening in the U.S.,” and if it “complicated” their thoughts.
Anisimova did not take the anti-American, left-wing “reporter’s” bait.
“I was born in America, so I’m always proud to represent my country. A lot of us are doing really well. It’s great to see a lot of great athletes on the women’s and men’s side, so I feel like we are all doing a great job of representing ourselves,” she replied.
Most other U.S. athletes also shot down Lewis’ baiting questions. The only one who did not was Coco Gauff, who spoke of her past political statements and how hard it is “being a Black woman in this country.”
“I hope forward that we can have a lot more peace in our country and more kindness in the way we speak to each other about different topics and things like that,” she said, via The Tennis Letter. “Obviously, I’ve been pretty vocal about how I felt. At this point, I feel a bit fatigued talking about it just because of the fact that it is hard, also being a Black woman in this country, and having to experience things, even online, and seeing marginalized communities being affected. And knowing that I can only donate and speak out. I try my best to do that.
“But, yeah, I hope that as time continues, we can reach a state that we’re not currently in, and we keep moving forward. I posted the video of Martin Luther King, and that was kind of saying, ‘We must keep moving forward,’ even as things may not be as calm as I’d like it to be right now.”
