Aryna Sabalenka Clarifies Controversial Remarks on Coco Gauff After French Open Heartbreak

Aryna Sabalenka sparked backlash when she claimed Iga Swiatek would have defeated Coco Gauff in place of her in the French Open final.

Aryna Sabalenka Clarifies Controversial Remarks on Coco Gauff After French Open Heartbreak

Coco Gauff, Aryna Sabalenka (Image via X/Complex, Univers Tennis)

The women’s singles at the French Open was wrapped up on Saturday (June 8) with Coco Gauff becoming the singles champion here for the first time. In a two-hour 38-minute battle, Gauff came from a set down to script history with a 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-4 scoreline, denying Aryna Sabalenka her first win in the tournament.

Apart from Gauff, another ‘opponent’ Sabalenka struggled to tackle was windy conditions. She committed 70 unforced errors to Gauff’s 30.

After the heartbreak, Sabalenka stated that she played “worst” tennis in recent weeks. The Belarusian sparked controversy when she said that had Iga Swiatek defeated her in the semifinal and met Gauff in the championship match, she would have beaten the American.

Many from the tennis world accused the three-time Grand Slam singles champion of not giving credit to the 21-year-old that she deserved. Gauff, when asked about the Swiatek comment in the press conference, said she disagrees with Sabalenka, and that she doesn’t think it’s fair to say that.

After the backlash, Sabalenka took to Instagram story and credited Gauff for playing better tennis than her in the windy conditions but also reiterated that she didn’t play to her full potential.

Coco handled the conditions much better than I did and fully deserved the win. She was the better player yesterday, and I want to give her the credit she earned. You all know me… I’m always going to be honest and human in how I process these moments. I made over 70 unforced errors, so I can’t pretend it was a great day for me.

Gauff improved her head-to-head record over Sabalenka to 6-5. The win was also her first singles victory since the 2024 WTA Finals. Before the French Open, Gauff had also progressed to the final of the Madrid Open and the Italian Open, losing to Sabalenka and home favorite Jasmine Paolini, respectively.

But both things can be true: I didn’t play my best, and Coco stepped up and played with poise and purpose. She earned that title. Respect. Time to rest, learn, and come back stronger.

Aryna Sabalenka added

Check out her post here:

Aryna Sabalenka's Instagram story
Aryna Sabalenka’s Instagram story

For Sabalenka, it was her seventh final of the season. She was searching for her fourth title after winning in Brisbane, Miami, and Madrid.

Coco Gauff’s mother reacts to her French Open final win over Aryna Sabalenka

Coco Gauff had played her first Grand Slam final at the French Open back in 2022. But she was no match for Iga Swiatek, who now is a four-time champion here.

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

In her next Major final, she beat Aryna Sabalenka to become the 2023 US Open champion. Following Gauff’s win, her mom, Candi Gauff, praised her “amazing” daughter for fighting till the end. She told TNT Sports:

What I saw mainly was her ability to stay mentally engaged in the match and staying focused and just believing in herself.

Sabalenka is 3-3 in the Grand Slam finals and three of these defeats came from Americans. Apart from losing the finals of the 2023 US Open and this year’s French Open to Gauff, Sabalenka was defeated in the Australian Open final this January by Madison Keys.

The now two-time Grand Slam singles champion has become the youngest to win a Major singles title on multiple surfaces since Maria Sharapova (2004 Wimbledon and 2006 US Open). She is also the youngest American to capture the Roland Garros singles title since Serena Williams in 2002.

Gauff has ended her campaign on the clay swing with 18 wins, and after her is Sabalenka with 17 wins (lost the Stuttgart Open final to Jelena Ostapenko, the Italian Open quarterfinal to Qinwen Zheng, and won the Madrid Open).

Next is the grass swing. Both Sabalenka and Gauff have never captured a title on the surface. At Wimbledon, the 27-year-old was the semifinalist in 2021 and 2023, while last year, she skipped it due to an injury.

Gauff has never progressed beyond the fourth round in the grass-court Major. She reached the last 16 stages in 2019, 2021, and 2024.

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