Photo credit: Antoine Couvercelle/ROLEX
Pressure swirled around Coco Gauff like a cloud of red dust.
Facing 15,000 French fans and inspiring French wild card Lois Boisson ready to rock Court Philippe Chatrier, Gauff was downright imposing.
A calm Gauff created chaos for the French hero, crashing the Cinderella story 6-1, 6-2 to charge into her second Roland Garros final in the last four years.
“I felt today I played super well,” Gauff told TNT’s Sloane Stephens in her on-court interview. “I tried to be patient and super aggressive and I think that was the key to today.”
Facing the first women’s wild card to reach the French Open final four, Gauff muzzled Boisson and muted French fans bursting out to a 4-0 lead at the start and closed with a fierce finish winning 12 of the final 13 points.
Overall, Gauff converted six of seven break points and played clean combinations hitting 12 winners against 15 unforced errors—17 fewer than the maiden major semifinalist.
The 2022 finalist Gauff set up a blockbuster battle of the world’s top two as she will face reigning US Open champion Aryna Sabalenka in Saturday’s final. The pair have split 10 career meetings and two major meetings.
Earlier, world No. 1 Sabalenka roared through 16 of the last 18 points dethroning defending champion Iga Swiatek 7-6(1), 4-6, 6-0 soaring into her maiden Roland Garros final today.
It will be the first French Open women’s final between the world’s Top 2-ranked women since Serena Williams swept Maria Sharapova into the 2013 final. It marks the third straight major final for Sabalenka against her third consecutive American opponent: Sabalenka beat Jessica Pegula in the 2024 US Open final and fell to Madison Keys in the Australian Open final in January.
The second-ranked Gauff improved to 16-3 on red clay this season, reaching her third straight clay-court final following her runs to the Madrid and Rome title matches.
Last month in Madrid, Sabalenka was calling the shots conquering Gauff 6-3, 7-6(3) to capture her 20th career championship, including a record-tying third Mutua Madrid Open crown.
The speedy Gauff knows defense will not be enough to get it done against the assertive Sabalenka.
“She’s obviously going to hit some great shots, play really aggressive and I’m just going to try my best and play as aggressive as I can,” Gauff told TNT’s Sloane Stephens afterward.
Playing with poise and purpose, Gauff covered the court masterfully, mixed her high-bouncing heavy topspin forehand with finishing flat backhand strikes in overwhelming Boisson, who was playing just her second Tour-level event and began this Roland Garros as a 500 to 1 longshot.
A free-flowing Gauff won eight of 10 points scoring her second straight break for 3-0.
Navigating a tough nine-minute game, Gauff denied three break points extending her lead to 4-0.
Exhorted by French fans, the wild card held firm to get on the board after 28 minutes of play.
Covering the clay like a speed skater on ice, Gauff shrunk open space for Boisson. The Frenchwoman was pressing trying to squeeze shots closer to the lines.
When the world No. 361 flattened a forehand into net, Gauff earned her fourth break to collect a one-set lead after 36 minutes.
Despite serving an unsightly 39 percent, Gauff won 15 of 23 service points and defended the corners of the court with clean counterstrikes in producing perhaps her best set of this Roland Garros tournament.
The wild card scored inspired upset victories over No. 3 Jessica Pegula and 2024 semifinalist Mirra Andreeva yesterday, but those physical battles took a toll. Boisson lacked the legs to gain traction in running rallies and lost some of the sting on her serve compared to prior matches.
Still, it was an absolutely astounding fairy-tale run for Boisson, who tore her ACL last season and just returned to the Tour in February. Boisson gave French fans—and the tournament—a wondrous wild ride and they enjoyed every second.
Gauff pulled the plug with relentless combinations to keep Boisson moving and drain the fuel from her tank.
When Boisson ballooned a forehand beyond the baseline, Gauff broke for a 6-1, 3-1 lead after just 55 minutes of play.
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Though Boisson broke back for 2-3 that was truly Cinderella’s last dance.
Gauff blitzed through 12 of the last 13 points charging into her third career Grand Slam final—and first since she beat Sabalenka to win the 2023 US Open—in 69 minutes.