8-6-2025
Coco Gauff has knocked Aryna Sabalenka over her remarks the she won French Open final because Sabalenka made mistakes.
Gauff won her first French Open after she came back from a set down to beat Sabalenka 6-7 6-2 6-4.
But Sabalenka claimed that Gauff won because she was having a bad day on court making 70 unforced errors.
“It was the worst final I have ever played…That hurts,” Sabalenka said. “Especially when you’ve been playing really great tennis during the whole week, when you’ve been playing against a lot of tough opponents, Olympic champion [Qinwen Zheng], Iga and then you go out, and you play really bad
“Like I think Iga Swiatek… I think she would go out today and she would get the win. It just hurts. Honestly hurts. I’ve been playing really well, and then in the last match, go out there and perform like I did, that’s hurt.”
“I think she won the match not because she played incredible, just because I made all of those mistakes.”
However, Gauff who beat Sabalenka in the 2023 US Open final said she does not agree with Sabalenka.
“I mean, I don’t agree with that,” Gauff said.
“No shade to Iga or anything, but last time I played her I won in straight sets. I don’t think that’s a fair thing to say, because anything can really happen.
“The way Aryna was playing the last few weeks, she was the favourite to win. So I think she was the best person that I could have played in the final.
“Her being No. 1 in the world was the best person to play, so I think I got the hardest matchup just if you go off stats alone.”
It was super tough when I walked on the court and felt the wind because we warmed up with the roof closed,” Gauff said. “I was, like, ‘this is going to be a tough day’.
“I knew it was just going to be about willpower and mental. It really came down to the last few points, but overall I’m just really happy with the fight that I managed today. It wasn’t pretty, but it got the job done, and that’s all that matters.”