World's top two clash for French Open crown as Sabalenka faces Gauff
It will be the first time the world's top two players have met in a women's Grand Slam final since Caroline Wozniacki defeated Simona Halep to win the 2018 Australian Open.
Sabalenka and Gauff faced off in the 2023 US Open final, when the Belarusian led by a set before imploding as the then-teenager Gauff claimed her maiden major title.
Their head-to-head record is locked at 5-5, although Sabalenka came out on top in their last meeting in the Madrid Open final last month.
The top seed will be playing in her first Slam final not on hard courts.
"In the past I don't know how many years, we've been able to develop my game so much, so I feel really comfortable on this surface and actually enjoy playing on clay," she said after ending Iga Swiatek's bid for a fourth successive Roland Garros triumph in the semi-finals.
"If I'll be able to get this trophy, it's just going to mean the world for us.
"I'm ready to go in that final and to fight, fight for every point and give everything I have to give to get the win."
Sabalenka snapped Swiatek's 26-match winning run at the French Open with a devastating deciding set that she took 6-0 in just 22 minutes.
But the 27-year-old knows it will not be easy against Gauff, who has always been comfortable on clay and has reached at least the quarter-finals in five successive appearances in the tournament.
"It was a big match (against Swiatek), and it felt like a final, but I know that the job is not done yet, and I have to go out there on Saturday, and I have to fight and I have to bring my best tennis," added three-time major champion Sabalenka.
"I have to work for that title, especially if it's going to be Coco."
Gauff hoping to stay 'calm'
Gauff is hoping to become only the third player to win two women's Grand Slam titles before the age of 22 since Maria Sharapova added the 2006 US Open to her famous 2004 Wimbledon win.
The others are Swiatek and former world number one Naomi Osaka.
It will be the 21-year-old's second Roland Garros final after she was left in tears following a heavy defeat by Swiatek in 2022.
"Obviously here I have a lot more confidence just from playing a Grand Slam final before and doing well in one," said Gauff.
"I think going into Saturday I'll just give it my best shot and try to be as calm and relaxed as possible."
Sabalenka will be playing in her seventh WTA final of the year, the most by any player at this stage of a season since Serena Williams -- who beat Sharapova to win the title in Paris -- in 2013.
Gauff says Sabalenka's power has helped her build a commanding lead at the top of the world rankings.
"I think obviously her ball striking, she can come up with some big shots and big winners pretty much at all areas of the court, so I think her ball striking and also her mentality, she's a fighter as well, she's going to stay in the match regardless of the scoreline."
Gauff is in her first Slam final since beating Sabalenka in New York two years ago, having suffered two semi-final losses since, including to Swiatek at Roland Garros 12 months ago.
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France 24
an hour ago
- France 24
Gauff says French Open title 'one I really wanted'
The 21-year-old secured a hard-fought 6-7 (5/7), 6-2, 6-4 win over the world number one in difficult, windy conditions at Roland Garros. "I felt like this is one I really wanted, because I do think this was one of the tournaments that when I was younger that I felt I had the best shot of winning," said American star Gauff. "So I just felt like if I went through my career and didn't get at least one of these, I would feel regrets and stuff. "Today, playing Aryna, I was just, 'I just gotta go for it and try my best to get through the match'." It was a long-awaited success for Gauff, who was in tears after losing the 2022 French Open final to Iga Swiatek as a teenager and had reached at least the quarter-finals in Paris in each of the previous four years. "That ceremony when Iga won, I just remembered trying to take it all in and pay attention to every detail and just feel like I wanted that experience for myself," added the world number two, who also came back from a set down to beat Sabalenka in the 2023 US Open final. "When the anthem got played, I vividly remember watching her, pretty emotional when the Polish anthem got played. I was, like, 'Wow, this is such a cool moment'. "So when the (USA) anthem got played today, I kind of had those reflections." 'Not a day for great tennis' Gauff is the first woman to beat a world number one in a Grand Slam final from a set down since Venus Williams against Lindsay Davenport at Wimbledon in 2005. It was her first title since lifting the WTA Finals trophy last year, after suffering final defeats in both the Madrid and Italian Opens to Sabalenka and Jasmine Paolini respectively. Sabalenka called the conditions "terrible", as the wind swirled after the roof was opened shortly before the start of the match. "It was not a day for great tennis, honestly," admitted Gauff. "I don't know too many people that could play great tennis today, but it's part of the sport and part of playing outside." American film director and diehard New York Knicks fan Spike Lee was in attendance and celebrated with Gauff after her victory. "I wanted to tell him, I had to do it, that even though the Knicks didn't win, I gave him something to cheer for," she said, in reference to the Knicks' defeat by the Indiana Pacers in the NBA's Eastern Conference Finals last weekend. Both players struggled on serve, especially in a 77-minute first set featuring eight breaks. Sabalenka said she thought Swiatek would have beaten Gauff if she had not ended the Pole's title defence in the semi-finals, but the actual champion shot down those thoughts. "I don't agree with that. I'm sitting here," said Gauff, who thrashed Swiatek 6-1, 6-1 in the Madrid semi-finals last month, taking a glance at the trophy next to her. "Last time I played -- no shade to Iga or anything, but I played her and I won in straight sets. "I don't think that's a fair thing to say, because anything can really happen."
France 24
an hour ago
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Difficult Oakmont awaits No.1 Scheffler in US Open
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France 24
3 hours ago
- France 24
Sabalenka rues 'worst final' as French Open hopes blown off course
World number one Sabalenka won the opening set on a blustery day in Paris but watched the trophy slip from her grasp as she made a tournament-worst 70 unforced errors in tricky conditions. The 27-year-old suffered her second Grand Slam final defeat in a row after losing in Australia, with Gauff triumphing 6-7 (5/7), 6-2, 6-4 to capture her second major. "It was really honestly the worst tennis I've played in the last I don't know how many months," said Sabalenka. "Conditions were terrible, and she simply was better in these conditions than me. I think it was the worst final I ever played." Gauff's first Grand Slam title also came at the expense of Sabalenka -- at the 2023 US Open, with the American fighting back from a set down on that occasion as well. Sabalenka raced into a 4-1 lead and eventually won a tie-break to pocket the first set Saturday, but Gauff adjusted better to the gusty winds on a gloomy afternoon. "I think she won the match not because she played incredible; just because I made all of those mistakes," said Sabalenka. "I think I was overemotional. I think today I didn't really handle myself quite well mentally, I would say." "Sometimes that happens, you know? You just wake up, and you don't feel your best and another player goes for whatever and it works, and for you nothing is working," she added. "I guess today wasn't the day." Sabalenka was attempting to become the only current women's player with titles at three of the four Grand Slam events. Greek island and tequila But after seeing her bid for a third straight Australian Open crown ended by Madison Keys in January, Sabalenka slid to another painful loss on the clay. "I definitely have to, you know, step back and learn something, because I cannot keep doing the same mistake," she said. "It's the worst match I've played in the last couple of months. It's just a joke. I cannot do that anymore in the finals. "I wouldn't care if I would play like that in, I don't know, fourth round or quarter-finals, but in the final of a Grand Slam... it's a bit not right." Sabalenka was full of confidence after knocking out Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen and then ending Iga Swiatek's 26-match winning streak at Roland Garros. But she couldn't deliver when it counted most, as Gauff avenged her loss to Sabalenka in last month's Madrid final. "It just hurts. Honestly hurts. I've been playing really well, and then in the last match, go out there and perform like I did, that hurts." Sabalenka revealed her plans for a quick break in Greece, to help her switch off and reset before preparing for the transition to grass and Wimbledon. "I already have a flight booked to Mykonos and alcohol, sugar. I just need couple of days to completely forget about this crazy world... and this crazy thing that happened today," she said. "Tequila, gummy bears, and I don't know, swimming, being like the tourist for couple of days." Sabalenka missed Wimbledon last year due to a shoulder injury but has reached the semi-finals in her last two appearances. She did not compete in 2022 either after the tournament banned Russian and Belarusian players because of the invasion of Ukraine. © 2025 AFP
