Photo credit: Lionel Hahn-Getty
Whipping wind and foreboding firepower from the world No. 1 confronted Coco Gauff.
Facing a one-set deficit on Court Chatrier, an energized Gauff nearly blew the lid off the place with an electrifying comeback.
Combating Aryna Sabalenka’s fierce power with pure poise, Gauff unleashed a mesmerizing comeback conquering the top seed 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-4 to capture her maiden Roland Garros championship in a thriller today.
The 21-year-old Delray Beach born baseliner toppled Sabalenka for the second time in a Grand Slam final—following her captivating comeback in the 2023 US final—to collect her second major championship and hit her way into history.
"It was super tough when I walked on the court and felt the wind because we warmed up with the roof closed," Gauff told the media in Paris. "I was, like, this is going to be a tough day, and I knew it was just going to be about willpower and mental.
"Yeah, 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."
Contesting her third straight major final, Sabalenka burst to a 4-1 lead and was a point away from 5-1 in the opener.
A calm Gauff stared down the chaos with clear eyes and strong body language essentially telling the No. 1: I will be here fighting all day and all night and never relent. Gauff is the first woman since Simona Halep in 2018 to drop the first set and rally to win the French Open final.
When Sabalenka’s final drive went wide, an ecstatic Gauff collapsed to the clay as if splashing in a celebratory sea of red terre battue. In her support box, Gauff’s mom, Candi, jumped up and down for joy at a family dream realized a full seven years after Gauff won the Roland Garros girls’ championship.
The second-seeded Gauff is the first American since the legendary Serena Williams in 2015 to capture the French Open and the youngest U.S. player since Serena in 2002 to raise the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen.
Though Sabalenka is a worthy world No. 1, Gauff competed with more composure, showed greater variety and ultimately kept her cool no matter what the US Open champion threw at her.
“The crowd really helped me today—you guys were cheering for me so hard,” Gauff told French fans during the trophy presentation. “I don’t know what I do to deserve so much love from the French crowd, but I appreciate you guys so Merci Beaucoup.
“I didn’t think honestly I could do it, but I’m gonna quote Tyler, The Creator: if I ever told you I had a doubt inside me, I was lying.”
Across the net, Sabalenka unraveled emotionally at times, committing an unsightly 70 unforced errors—40 more than two-time finalist Gauff—repeatedly asking chair umpire Marijana Veljović to check ball marks, trying to land shots on the lines, stubbornly serving nearly every deuce serve to Gauff’s weaker forehand wing and barking at her box to vent stress.
Despite all those histrionics, Sabalenka showed her fight was still in it right to the very end as she held a break point in the final game.
Afterward, Sabalenka shed tears accepting the runner-up trophy and ruing lost opportunity.
“It’s such a tough to weeks, I played great tennis,” Sabalenka said. “In these terrible conditions to show such terrible tennis in the final, it really hurts. But it’s okay.
“Coco congrats, in these tough conditions you were a better player than me. Well done on a great two weeks, congrats on the second Grand Slam, well deserved. You’re a fighter, hard worker so congrats to you and your team.”
The woman with the Tiger tattoo is tough, but Gauff was an even fiercer fighter, which isn’t surprising given Gauff’s 10-3 career record in finals. However, when some in the tennis world were writing Gauff off after her Miami Open loss to Magda Linette.
Competing with composure and class, Gauff gave nearly nothing away today. Father Corey Gauff, wearing a black t-shirt with a Lion’s head on the front, said fighting spirit is his daughter’s tennis super power.
“I told Candi, they’re bringing a tiger so I have to bring a lion,” Corey Gauff told TNT’s Jon Wertheim afterward. “That’s her best quality: She fights no matter what…Her speed and her fight brought a lot to the table today.”
Today’s final was a rematch of the 2023 US Open final that saw Gauff rally to a 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 triumph.
On that day, a dynamic Gauff bounced back from a jittery opening set, slashing through five straight games to seize the second set and snatch a 4-0 lead in the third turning the largest Grand Slam stadium in the sport into a massive house party with more than 23,000 screaming Flushing Meadows fans relishing the ride and exhorting.
This time around, French fans provided equal support and Sabalenka was the most resounding presence in the entire arena.
In the first French Open women’s final pitting the world’s Top 2 since Serena Williams beat Maria Sharapova in the 2013 title match unfolded in a topsy-turvy opening set with massive momentum shifts.
Rocketing forehands in the 80 mile-an-hour range, Sabalenka backed Gauff up behind the baseline then sometimes pulled the strong on delicate drop shots. Sabalenka applied that combination setting up a forehand volley for the love break at a 2-1 lead.
The Belarusian blasted through nine points in a row backing up the break at love for 3-1.
Serving at 4-1, Sabalenka showed the first sign of nerves with the wind at her back double-faulting to face a break point. Gauff jumped on the chance breaking back in the sixth game.
Blocking back a Sabalenka smash, Gauff showed defensive wizardry sinning a forehand pass down the line. That shot sparked a love hold for 3-4.
A brain-cramping Sabalenka let a Gauff pass go by only to see it drop a foot and a half inside the baseline. That faulty decision helped Gauff break back in the eighth game.
The top seed served for the set at 5-4, but spit up her fourth double fault on her first set point.
On her second set point, Sabalenka netted a backhand.
Repeatedly serving to Gauff’s weaker backhand wing, Sabalenka’s heavy-handed tactic recalled the late, great Arthur Ashe, who once said: “I never hammer a man’s weakness—you may play it into a strength.”
During a punishing 18-point game that spanned more than 13 minutes, Gauff kept coming. Sabalenka framed a forehand to face a fifth break point in the game then Gauff drew a forehand error breaking back for 5-all.
A resounding Gauff comeback was three points from fulfillment when she went up 4-1 in the tiebreaker. Gauff looped an inventive lob then covered the line and carved a forehand volley dropper for 5-3—two points from a one-set lead
Credit Sabalenka for resetting and imposing controlled aggression. Sabalenka blasted successive backhand winners—the second right off the line—for 5-all.
In a crucial and crackling 19-shot rally, Sabalenka showed her defensive skills stretching the point with running gets, worked her way in for a fine forehand volley winner gaining a third set point with a hearty clenched fist toward her box.
This time, Sabalenka crushed a return and blocked a short forehand volley snatching a wild and often exhilarating opening set in 77 minutes.
"I was trying to be more aggressive in the second set, which it worked," Gauff said. "Then the third, I knew she was going to raise her level, which she came out playing well at that first game. So I was just, like, I have to try to match it. And, yeah, just run.
"I know it's so hard to outhit her, so I was trying my best to put her on defense. But with the wind and stuff, you know, I felt it was also more important to try to get as many balls in the court as possible, just because it was tough to plant your feet. The ball was moving so much."
Resetting, Gauff was just getting her groove going. The Madrid finalist broke to start the second and quickly consolidated for 2-0.
Moving fluidly and striking freely, Gauff buzzed through a love hold banging a backhand winner for a 4-1 second-set lead.
Well aware nearly every Sabalennka serve on the deuce court was coming to her forehand, Gauff was managing that side sending some deep returns. A skittish Sabalenka was grunting even louder as Gauff rolled through a love break extending her lead to 5-2.
By then, Gauff was playing with the confidence of a woman calling the shots, while Sabalenka was shooting concerned glances to her box and coach Anton Dubrov.
A leaping Gauff spiked a smash to end the second set—she won the last eight straight points—forcing a final set after a frenetic one hour, 52 minutes of play.
Ultra competitiveness and conditioning are two of Gauff’s greatest weapons. Running down a dropper, Gauff drew an errant pass then broke for 2-1 when Sabalenka coughed up her fifth double fault.
Despite a physical two hour, five-minute fight, Gauff was barely sweating on the breezy day, while Sabalenka was sometimes gulping deep breath before turning to berate her box after falling into the one-break deficit.
Though Sabalenka broke back to level the decider at 3-all, Gauff ripped a biting backhand to break back at love for 4-3 and sent Sabalenka into a deeper spiral.
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Serving for the championship, that beleaguered Gauff forehand wing—a pinata for her critics—produced the pass that gave her championship point No. 1. Sabalenka hit the line with a return. Initially, some fans, including mom Candi, thought the drive was long starting a premature celebration.
On championship point No. 2, Sabalenka missed a drive wide, Gauff collapsed to the court rising up to Roland Garros glory and history.
A couple of months after celebrating her 21st birthday, Gauff joins Mima Jausovec, Hana Mandlikova, Jennifer Capriati, Justine Henin, who presented her title trophy, and Simona Halep as Open Era women to rule Roland Garros junior and professional championships.
"I also felt like this is one I really wanted, because I do think this was one of the tournaments that when I was younger that I felt I had the best shot of winning," Gauff said. "So I just felt like if I went through my career and didn't get at least one of these, I would feel regrets and stuff.
"Today, playing Aryna, I was just, like, I just gotta go for it and try my best to get through the match. Yeah, that's what I did."