Coco Gauff has won the French Open women’s singles title for the first time after an epic battle with Aryna Sabalenka in Saturday’s final.
Gauff headed into Roland-Garros as the No.2 seed and came from behind in challenging windy conditions against the world No.1 to land her second Grand Slam singles trophy with a 6-7 6-2 6-4 victory.
It is the first major singles title the American star has secured on clay, with her only previous triumph on home soil at the 2023 US Open.
Her French Open singles trophy comes one year after she clinched the Roland-Garros doubles title with Czech partner Katerina Siniakova.
‘When we saw her at 15, we knew that she’d be winning multiple Slams’
Women’s tennis legend Chris Evert has lauded Gauff and described the 21-year-old as a ‘fighter’ after her stunning comeback against Sabalenka.
‘There were tears from her, she could see how much she wanted that and how stressful that whole match was,’ Evert told TNT Sports.
‘But she found a way. She deserves to win this one. She was brought up on clay and was a finalist before [in 2022].
‘She’s won her second [Grand Slam]. She’s waited a while for this. When we saw her at 15, we knew that she’d be winning multiple Slams and she’s on her second one right now. It’s quite incredible.
Gauff quotes American rapper Tyler, The Creator
Gauff, speaking on the court, said: ‘I want to thank my team. You are always pushing me. I know sometimes I’m not easy to work with, but thank you for everything you do. I appreciate you guys.
‘I also want to thank my parents – from washing my clothes to keeping me grounded you always believe in me. You guys are the reason I do this and inspire me more than anything.
‘I want to thank the crowd too. You really helped me today, you were cheering so hard and I don’t know what I do to deserve so much love from the French crowd but Merci beaucoup.
‘I didn’t think I could do it but I’m going to quote (American rapper) Tyler, The Creator who said, “If I ever told you I had a doubt inside me, I must be lying” – I’ll leave you with that.’
‘[Gauff] really kept her calm after losing the first set. She’s a fighter, she came back and figured out she needed to match Aryna’s power, she did that. She did that and stay calm under the pressure when Aryna got a little bit flustered and sensed the errors. All is happy in the Gauff camp.
‘She proved what a great all-court player she is. The defending she did was incredible. It came down to the wire a she kept her cool better than Aryna, we can safely say that.’
‘At least Sabalenka proved she can win this title, she came so close. Maybe getting upset held her back a little bit.’
Gauff follows in the footsteps of Venus Williams
Coco Gauff has become the first player to win a women’s singles Grand Slam final against the reigning world No.1 after losing the first set since Venus Williams did so against Lindsay Davenport at Wimbledon 20 years ago.
Sabalenka registers 70 unforced errors in defeat
Sabalenka was eventually punished for her high tally of unforced errors – but it was the Belarusian who had the better start on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
Sabalenka broke Gauff to love in game three – and she made it a double break in game five with a stunning return off the second serve.
That saw Sabalenka go 4-1 up but Gauff came roaring back with a break and hold of serve reducing her opponent’s lead back down to one game.
Sabalenka issues apology for her ‘terrible tennis’
Sabalenka issued an apology to her team for her ‘terrible tennis’ before vowing to ‘come back stronger’ in her on-court interview.
‘Honestly guys, this one hurts so much, especially after such a tough two weeks playing great tennis under these terrible conditions,’ she said. ‘To show such terrible tennis in the final does really hurt, but it’s okay.
‘Anyway, congratulations to Coco [Gauff]. In these tough conditions, you were a better player than me.’
In a message to her coaching team, Sabalenka added: ‘Thank you for the support. I’m sorry for this terrible final. As always, I will come back stronger.’
The eighth game of the first set turned into somewhat of a marathon as Sabalenka saved four break points – but Gauff finally got the job done to secure her own double break – and level things up at 4-4 on the red dirt.
More drama followed in game nine as Sabalenka secured her third break of the match to swing the momentum back in her favour – only to miss two set points in game 10 – and hand Gauff the opportunity to break her back.
Gauff couldn’t convert the first four break points but made no mistake with the fifth to once again level up the women’s singles final at 5-5.
The topsy-turvy showdown continued as Sabalenka and Gauff broke each other yet again to make it 6-6 and force a tie-break, with the world No.1 losing the first three points before eventually taking the first set 7-6 (7-5).
Gauff needed to produce a comeback in the second set to force a possible decider and got off to a flier with an impressive double break to lead 4-1.
Gauff’s first break of the second set was secured with a neat passing shot and her second, in game five, came after a brilliant backhand return winner.
Sabalenka broke back but Gauff instantly responded with a break of her own – her seventh of the match – to lead 5-2 in the second set of the final.
Gauff then held to love to take the second set 6-2, meaning the two players would battle it out in a third-set decider.
At 3-3, Sabalenka registered her 61st unforced error of the day, remarkably the highest tally in a women’s singles match at Roland-Garros this year.
Gauff then secured a break by whipping a beautiful backhand past her opponent to lead 4-3.
The American missed her first match point in game 10 of the third set but got over the line with her second opportunity to win the final 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 6-4 as Sabalenka’s total of unforced errors hit 70.