Aryna Sabalenka Sends Revenge Warning to Coco Gauff Ahead of Potential Wimbledon Final

Coco Gauff could schedule another clash with Aryna Sabalenka this year if they both progress to the Wimbledon final.

Aryna Sabalenka Sends Revenge Warning to Coco Gauff Ahead of Potential Wimbledon Final

Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff (Image via X/OptaAce, The Tennis Letter)

Aryna Sabalenka will kick-start her Wimbledon campaign on June 30 against Carson Branstine. Because she is the first seed and Coco Gauff is seeded second, they will only face each other if they reach the championship match.

Before Wimbledon, Sabalenka and Gauff met for the second time in a Grand Slam final. Gauff lifted her first title of the season with a three-set win over the Belarusian in the French Open final, improving her head-to-head record to 6-5.

Sabalenka had also lost the 2023 US Open final to Gauff. In her pre-tournament press conference at Wimbledon, the Belarusian admitted that she had set her sights on revenge on the 21-year-old if they meet in the summit clash.

But I don’t want to lose to show that guys, I learned the lesson. I’m not gonna be like that. So I don’t know, in this case maybe…maybe I don’t want to see Coco if I make it to the finals. But if she’s going to be there, I’m happy because I want to get revenge.

At the French Open, the 27-year-old was playing her seventh final of the season, chasing her fourth title following her wins in Brisbane, Miami, and Madrid. Before arriving in London, Sabalenka started her campaign on the grass swing at the Berlin Open, losing in the semifinal to eventual winner Marketa Vondrousova.

Sabalenka was a semifinalist at SW19 in 2021 and 2023. But last year, she skipped the tournament because of an injury problem.

Naomi Osaka says Coco Gauff inspires her a lot

Naomi Osaka has faced Coco Gauff five times, winning two of these matches. Osaka, the winner of four Grand Slam titles, has never progressed beyond the third round at Wimbledon, reaching the stage in 2017 and 2018.

Coco Gauff (via X/The Tennis Letter)
Coco Gauff (via X/The Tennis Letter)

The Japanese ace will start her campaign against Talia Gibson. In the pre-tournament press conference, Osaka recalled the time when Gauff was a newcomer and expressed her wish to play like the two-time Grand Slam singles champion on clay.

But yeah, it’s really cool, I would say, to see how much she’s grown and it also, I guess, reminds me how much athletes can inspire people. And she inspires me a lot, and I hope that one day I can play as well on clay as she does, and I think it’s really, really incredible how far she’s come from what I first saw her.

Wimbledon is the only Grand Slam tournament where Gauff has never reached the semifinal. She has also never progressed beyond the last 16, reaching the stage in 2019, 2021, and 2024. Compatriot Emma Navarro was the reason behind her exit last year.

After lifting the French Open, Gauff played her first tournament on grass, at the Berlin Open. But her campaign did not last for long as she lost her opening-round match to eventual runner-up Wang Xinyu.

Coco Gauff to meet Dayana Yastremska in her Wimbledon first round

Gauff will kick-start her Wimbledon campaign against an unseeded Dayana Yastremska. She has met the Ukrainian thrice, winning all the matches. But they have not yet faced each other on grass as all the previous three matches they played on clay.

Coco Gauff (via X/Tennis Channel)
Coco Gauff (via X/Tennis Channel)

Yastremska has not yet won a title this year. The 25-year-old has reached the final stage twice this year: at the Linz Open and at the Nottingham Open, losing both, to Ekaterina Alexandrova and McCartney Kessler, respectively. Yastremska, like Gauff, has never played the quarterfinal at Wimbledon.

She reached the last 16 in 2019. Last year, Donna Vekic ended her run in the third round. Yastremska produced her best performance in a Major at the 2024 Australian Open as she reached the semifinal.

Also read: Coco Gauff Calls for Women to Play Finals Last Instead of Men and Take Center Stage in Tennis