Coco Gauff responds to Aryna Sabalenka over ‘not fair' French Open final claim
Coco Gauff said Aryna Sabalenka's suggestion that she would have lost the French Open final to Iga Swiatek was not 'fair' after the American won her first Roland Garros title by beating the World No 1.
In difficult, windy conditions, Gauff fought from a set down to defeat Sabalenka 6-7 6-2 6-4 and win her second grand slam title on the Paris clay. However, a disgruntled Sabalenka criticised her own performance, in which she made 70 unforced errors, and said 'it was the worst final I have ever played'.
Advertisement
Sabalenka had defeated Swiatek in the semi-finals, to end the Pole's 26-match winning run at Roland Garros, but could not get the job done as she lost to Gauff for her second grand slam final defeat in a row.
Sabalenka has now lost two grand slam finals to Gauff after the 2023 US Open (Getty Images)
'That hurts,' Sabalenka said. 'Especially when you've been playing really great tennis during the whole week, when you've been playing against a lot of tough opponents, Olympic champion [Qinwen Zheng], Iga and then you go out, and you play really bad.
'Like I think Iga... I think she would go out today and she would get the win. 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's hurt.'
Advertisement
To add to an extraordinary press conference, Sabalenka added: 'She was hitting the ball from the frame. Somehow magically the ball lands in the court. It felt like a joke, honestly, like somebody from above was there laughing, like, 'let's see if you can handle this'.'
Sabalenka also said: 'I think she won the match not because she played incredible, just because I made all of those mistakes.'
Sabalenka after defeat to Coco Gauff in the final (AP)
Gauff said that while she respected both Sabalenka and Swiatek, she could not agree with Sabalenka's assessment and said that she did a better job of dealing with the conditions.
'I mean, I don't agree with that,' Gauff replied as she appeared at her press conference next to the French Open trophy. 'I'm here sitting here [as the champion].
Advertisement
'No shade to Iga or anything, but last time I played her I won in straight sets. I don't think that's a fair thing to say, because anything can really happen.
'The way Aryna was playing the last few weeks, she was the favourite to win. So I think she was the best person that I could have played in the final.
'Her being No. 1 in the world was the best person to play, so I think I got the hardest matchup just if you go off stats alone.'
Gauff kisses the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen, her second grand slam singles title (Getty Images)
Gauff explained how she adjusted her game and handled the conditions to add to her 2023 US Open triumph, which also came against Sabalenka.
'It was super tough when I walked on the court and felt the wind because we warmed up with the roof closed,' Gauff said. 'I was, like, 'this is going to be a tough day'.
Advertisement
'I knew it was just going to be about willpower and mental. It really came down to the last few points, but overall I'm just really happy with the fight that I managed today. It wasn't pretty, but it got the job done, and that's all that matters.'
Sabalenka, who also suffered a painful defeat to Madison Keys in the Australian Open final in January, said she had no plans to re-watch the final and will be going on holiday to Greece for 'tequila, gummy bears and swimming'.
'No, no, I already have a flight booked to Mykonos and alcohol, sugar,' Sabalenka said. 'I just need couple of days to completely forget about this crazy world and this crazy - if I could swear, I would swear right now - but this crazy thing that happened today.
'I think everyone understands. I'm just trying to be very polite right now, but you know, there is no other word, that could describe what just happened today on the court. But yeah, tequila, gummy bears, and I don't know, swimming, being like the tourist for couple of days.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
31 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Mbappé steers France to 2-0 win over Germany in Nations League
MUNICH (AP) — Kylian Mbappé led France to Nations League consolation before Spain and Portugal play the final on Sunday. The Real Madrid star scored one goal and set up the other as France defeated host nation Germany 2-0 in the third-place decider. Aurélien Tchouaméni set up club teammate Mbappé to score just before the break after Germany had dominated the first half, and Mbappé set up substitute Michael Olise to seal the result in the 84th after a much-improved second-half performance from the visitors. France coach Didier Deschamps had made his lack of enthusiasm for the game clear the day before, noting his team had little to gain from playing it, and it was apparent which side was more motivated in front of the Stuttgart fans. Germany missed a host of chances then had Deniz Undav's equalizer ruled out for a foul by Niclas Füllkrug in the buildup. France was without injured Paris Saint-Germain star Ousmane Dembélé. Both sides were forced to play for the consolation prize after losing their semifinals. Germany lost 2-1 to Portugal on Wednesday before France lost 5-4 to European champion Spain on Thursday. Spain was playing Portugal later in Munich.
Yahoo
42 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Paris triumph is proof of Coco Gauff's maturity on the biggest stages
Aryna Sabalenka was understandably devastated by how her first French Open final unfolded. Having established herself as the No 1 player in the world and made such significant improvements to her game and mentality, she played some of the best tennis of her career in Paris en route to the final. Sabalenka felt she was ready to tackle all obstacles. With her crushing defeat against Coco Gauff in the French Open final after three difficult sets, she found out she was not. Her expression of that disappointment, however, was one of her least impressive performances of the year. During the trophy ceremony, with Gauff sitting metres away, Sabalenka's insistence on repeatedly lamenting her 'terrible match' was awkward enough. But in her press conference, after having a short amount of time to cool off, Sabalenka tripled down. Advertisement Related: Coco Gauff claims first French Open title after fightback floors Aryna Sabalenka Gauff had won not because of her incredible level, she said, but because of her own mistakes off easy balls. How had her opponent made life difficult for her? By her framed shots magically landing in the court. Had Iga Swiatek reached the final, she concluded, the Pole would have won. Nothing Sabalenka said was rooted in reality. Over the years, Gauff has built herself into one of the toughest players on the tour. She is the best defensive player in the world, which she pairs with her improvisational skills, intelligence and discipline. Between her phenomenal two-handed backhand, her potent first serve and an improving forehand that is perfectly suited to clay courts with its heavy topspin, Gauff also has more than enough weapons to hold her own against the best in the world. The American makes it incredibly difficult for any opponent to play their best tennis against her, which is why Sabalenka has repeatedly struggled to do so. Under pressure from the 27-year-old in tough, windy conditions that could have easily exposed her own insecurities behind her serve and forehand, this was an immense fighting performance from Gauff, and an impressive victory. She is the first woman in history to win her first two grand slam titles from a set down, with both victories coming against Sabalenka. Gauff is now a multiple grand slam title winner at 21 and ranked No 2 behind the Belarusian. This is no fluke. Advertisement After her victory, Gauff reflected on her difficulties before her first grand slam final at Roland Garros in 2022. Before that match, aged 18, she had been consumed by doubts and anxiety, unable to even breathe and questioning whether she would ever be able to handle the occasion. She learned from those lessons and has evolved into a formidable competitor who performs reliably well in the biggest moments. She now has 10 wins and three defeats in finals, a supreme record. Even after losing two WTA 1000 finals in Madrid , Gauff managed to save her best performance for the biggest final of all. Great champions thrive under pressure. By contrast, Sabalenka is still trying to exorcise old demons. As a three-time grand slam title winner and one of the most successful players of her generation, she has handled herself extremely well in some matches, but under the right circumstances against the wrong opponent she still struggles to contain her emotions. Instead of dismissing the challenge posed by an opponent who has outplayed her in the two biggest matches they have contested, she could learn from the example set by one of her closest rivals. On the path to this title, inspiration sprung up for Gauff in unexpected places. The night before the final, she was absent-mindedly scrolling on TikTok when a video of the Olympic 200m champion Gabby Thomas appeared. Thomas was explaining to a reporter how she had used written manifestations to aid in her quest for gold. Upon watching the video, an inspired Gauff sprung into action: 'I was like: 'I have this hotel notepad. I'm gonna write it as many times as I can fit on this, and I'm done.' So I did it that night, and I was just looking at myself in the mirror, and I was telling myself, just trying to seal it in my brain so I had that belief.' On a small piece of paper, Gauff had written a short sentence eight times: 'I will be the French Open 2025 champion!'
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Fabulous Paolini-Errani: Italian women tennis players conquer Roland Garros
Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini conquered Roland Garros. The two Italian tennis players imposed themselves on the Serbian-Kazakhstan pair of Aleksandra Krunic and Anna Danilina at the end of a multi-faceted match: after an initial, 6-4 in favour of the Italians, the second set ended 2-6 in favour of the opponents. In the third set, however, there was no mistaking who was in charge. The Italian Olympians hit two consecutive breaks and always held serve, taking a 5-0 lead. The match therefore ended with a score of 6-1, which gave the crown to the Italian pair. It was the second consecutive title for Errani-Paolini after the one they had just won at the Internazionali in Rome. And it is a rematch on French soil, after last year's final defeat against Katerina Siniakova and Coco Gauff. The Italian tennis player's total haul thus rises to seven titles, including the Olympic gold medal (also in Paris) in 2024. Four in particular triumphed in WTA 1000 tournaments. Related Tennis: Jasmine Paolini and Sara Errani triumph at Internazionali d'Italia women's doubles Sara Errani reached 34 titles in doubles; Paolini eight. Together with Roberta Vinci, she had already won Roland Garros in 2012, the US Open in the same year, the Australian Open in 2013-2014 and Wimbledon in 2014. For the Bolognese tennis player, this year's is therefore the sixth Slam in doubles, while for Jasmine Paolini who also took home the mixed doubles title together with Andrea Vavassori, it is the first one.
