Aryna Sabalenka Reveals Plans to Forget About ‘Crazy World’ After French Open Heartbreak

World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka lost to World No.2 Coco Gauff for the second time in a Grand Slam final.

Aryna Sabalenka Reveals Plans to Forget About ‘Crazy World’ After French Open Heartbreak

Aryna Sabalenka (Image via X/We Are Tennis)

Aryna Sabalenka wants to forget all about the “crazy world” and spend some time in Mykonos after losing the French Open final. On Saturday (June 7), Sabalenka and Coco Gauff played a thrilling three-set final in a windy condition on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

After giving each tough fight with both committing many unforced errors (Sabalenka’s tally was 70), Gauff emerged as the champion here for the first time in her career. Sabalenka was bidding to become a four-time Grand Slam singles champion, but both the Major finals she played this season didn’t end in her favor.

Back in January, she lost a thrilling Australian Open final to Madison Keys. Sabalenka is 3-3 in the Grand Slam finals, and these three defeats came from American players.

Before this season, the Belarusian lost to Gauff in the 2023 US Open final. Sabalenka, during her runner-up speech, broke into tears and later at the press conference, when asked if she would watch the final back or forget about it, she joked that she wants to be a “tourist for a couple of days“.

I already have a flight booked to Mykonos. Alcohol. Sugar. I just need a couple of days to completely forget about this crazy world and crazy…if could swear right now I would…this crazy thing that happened today. I think everyone understands. I’m just trying to be very polite right now. 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.

It was Sabalenka’s seventh final of the season. She has so far won three titles: in Brisbane, Miami, and Madrid. The WTA 1000 trophy in the Spanish capital she lifted by beating Gauff. The American ace, after Madrid, also lost in the Italian Open final to home favorite Jasmine Paolini.

Gauff has now become the youngest American in 23 years to lift the clay-court Major after Serena Williams (2002 French Open). She also is the first American after the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion to take home the French Open. Williams had lifted it in 2015.

Aryna Sabalenka issues honest verdict of her performance after French Open defeat

It’s not that Aryna Sabalenka produced a lackluster performance in the final. From the very beginning of the match, both the players fought for each point.

Aryna Sabalenka
Aryna Sabalenka (Image via X/The Tennis Letter)

In the first set, Sabalenka squandered a 4-1 lead it was later extended into a tie-breaker which she won after much toil. The second and third sets were no different. Sabalenka at the press conference later, admitted that she struggled to play in the windy conditions.

Sometimes it happens. You wake up and don’t feel your best, and another player goes for everything and it works for them, but nothing works for you. I was struggling a lot, trying by all means to find a way to play in these conditions, but I guess today wasn’t the day.

Had Sabalenka won the title, she would have become the only active woman to win singles trophies in three of the four Grand Slam tournaments. Coco Gauff has now improved her head-to-head record over the three-time Major singles champion to 6-5.

The French Open was Gauff’s second clay-court title of her career after the 2021 Emilia-Romagna Open. Sabalenka has three titles on the red dirt she lifted at the Madrid Open in 2022, 2023, and 2024.

Next is the grass season. Both Sabalenka and Gauff have never lifted a title on the surface. At Wimbledon, Gauff has reached the last 16 three times but never progressed beyond this round. The 27-year-old, on the other hand, was the semifinalist in 2021 and 2023.

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