Chris Evert Slams Aryna Sabalenka’s Controversial Comments About Why She Lost to Coco Gauff in the French Open Final

Aryna Sabalenka claimed that the windy conditions at Court Philippe-Chatrier were among the issues that led to her defeat against Coco Gauff in the Roland Garros final.

Chris Evert Slams Aryna Sabalenka’s Controversial Comments About Why She Lost to Coco Gauff in the French Open Final

Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff and Chris Evert (X/The Tennis Letter/PEOPLE)

Aryna Sabalenka succumbed to a disappointing defeat against Coco Gauff at the Roland Garros final. The Belarusian didn’t receive the loss well as she vented her frustration during her post-match interview. Tennis legend Chris Evert has now criticized Sabalenka for her questionable comments while jumping to Gauff’s defense.

Sabalenka led the French Open final only in the first set, but her mind-blowing 70 unforced errors in the match let Gauff come from behind to turn the tie around. Gauff produced an excellent second set display and followed it up with a thrilling third set to beat the World No.1 6(5)-7, 6-2, 6-4.

After the match, Sabalenka struggled to speak during her on-court runners-up interview as she was in tears. But in the post-match press conference, she then revealed that she gave Gauff the victory easily because of her unforced errors and the windy conditions of Court Philippe-Chatrier. She also added that if Iga Swiatek had reached the final, she would have beaten Gauff.

Sabalenka’s comments came across as completely unfair and quite bitter in the face of another defeat against Gauff in a Grand Slam final. That was not received well by Chris Evert, who was shocked at her statements and questioned why the World No.1 didn’t try to make any adjustments during the match:

When you heard Aryna say it was the worst [final], I was like wow! You have to adjust. It’s the same on both sides. You have to make that adjustment. If you are number one in the world or number two in the world, you should know how to play on windy days by now. It was swirling. Well, you know what, then you really have to get ready and prepared for the shot quicker and you have to be aware of that and make the court smaller and not go for the lines all the time if it’s that windy.

However, Gauff is the first American in a decade to win the French Open. The last person to do so was Serena Williams in 2015, when she won her third French Open. Also, at 21, Gauff is the youngest American to win the Roland Garros since Williams’ first French Open title in 2002 in Paris.

In addition, Gauff winning the Roland Garros on Saturday (June 7) comes after the American star had lost in her first French Open final against Iga Swiatek in 2022. She had also lost two back-to-back finals on clay in Madrid and Rome, which makes the Roland Garros a deserved title for her hard work.

Chris Evert praises Coco Gauff for her fighting spirit against Aryna Sabalenka

Last season was one of the toughest years on tour for Coco Gauff. The 21-year-old struggled to compete across all four Grand Slam titles and was playing poorly before changing her coach in September. That led to a significant change in her game and saw her finish the year winning the WTA Finals.

Coco Gauff (2)
Coco Gauff (Image via X/Lindsey Wasson)

She has continued with the form this season, and against Aryna Sabalenka, she showed resilience. Chris Evert revealed on TNT Sports that the American kept her calm during the match but was also a fighter:

She 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 stayed calm under the pressure when Aryna got a little bit flustered and sensed the errors…The defending she did was incredible. It came down to the wire, and she kept her cool better than Aryna, we can safely say that.

Gauff will now look to continue with her form at the grass-court season. She played at the Grass Court Championship in Berlin last year and reached the semi-finals. It is likely she will repeat the same thing this season as a warm-up tournament ahead of the Wimbledon Championship.

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