Aryna Sabalenka in startling new act towards Coco Gauff after 'unprofessional' act
While Sabalenka finished with 30 winners, she also made 70 unforced errors as her game fell apart in the third set. The World No.1 was visibly upset after the defeat with the American winning her maiden French Open title.
Speaking after the final, Sabalenka largely dismissed Gauff's comeback and claimed her errors cost her another grand slam. "It was honestly the worst tennis I've played in I don't know how many months," Sabalenka said.
"Conditions were terrible, and she simply was better in these conditions than me. I think I was overemotional and I didn't really handle myself well. I think she won the match not because she played incredible, just because I made all of those mistakes from, if you look from the outside, easy balls."
But after the clay court dust has settled on her defeat, Sabalenka has revealed she took the loss poorly. Speaking ahead of her first grass-court match this year in Berlin, Sabalenka said she reached out to Gauff to apologise for her comments.
"That was just completely unprofessional of me," said Sabalenka to Eurosport Germany. "I let my emotions get the better of me.
"I absolutely regret what I said back then. We all make mistakes. I'm just a human being who's still learning in life. I think we all have those days when we lose control. The difference with me is the world is watching."
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Sabalenka was seen tearing up during the French Open post-tournament ceremony, but her comments in the press conference caused a stir. "I cannot go out there every time against her in the finals of the Grand Slam and play such terrible tennis," Sabalenka said at the time.
"It felt like a joke, honestly, like somebody from above was just there laughing saying, 'let's see if you can handle this'. Honestly, sometimes it felt like she was hitting the ball from the frame. Somehow magically the ball lands in the court, and you are kind of on the back foot."
Gauff's win marked her first French Open title to go along with her maiden US Open triumph. The 21-year-old will head into Wimbledon in form, but she has not always enjoyed success on grass.
The power-hitter has never made it past the round of 16 at Wimbledon, despite having reached it three times in her young career. She will be boosted though having achieved the World No.2 ranking after winning in Paris. Meanwhile, Sabalenka will also feel she can carry some momentum into the grass court campaign as she looked to add her first grand slam title to her collection in 2025.
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