Coco Gauff confidently dismissed Aryna Sabalenka’s suggestion that she would have lost the French Open final against Iga Swiatek.
A 6-7 [5-7] 6-2 6-4 win against Sabalenka on Saturday saw Gauff claim her first ever Grand Slam title at Roland Garros.
It brought an end to Swiatek’s reign in Paris, as the Polish star arrived as the reigning women’s singles champion since 2022.
Sabalenka beat her in the semi-finals but revealed her belief that she would have won a fourth consecutive title if she reached the final.
“If Iga beat me the other day, I think she would go out today and she would get the win,” she said in her post-match press conference.
“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, it hurts.”
However, when Gauff was informed about Sabalenka’s comments, she said: “I don’t agree with that, I’m sitting here.
“And last time I played, no shade to Iga or anything, but I played her and I won in straight sets, so I don’t think that’s a fair thing to say because anything can really happen.
“Honestly, 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, she was the best person to play so I think I got the hardest matchup, just if you go off stats alone.
“Obviously Iga, being a champion here, it was going to be a tough match either way but yeah, I think regardless of who I played, I think I had a good shot to win and I definitely had that belief.
“If you asked me honestly, speaking to you guys, who I wanted to play, it was Iga, just because I felt Aryna was playing so good, and she was.
“But also Iga is a tough opponent too so honestly, neither of them would have been the better shot.
“But it played out how it played out, and that’s why I’m here today.”
Gauff lost only two sets throughout her French Open run, which now follows her 2023 US Open title win.
The 21-year-old is the first women’s singles player to win a major final against the world no. 1 despite going a set down since 2005.
Venus Williams beat Lindsay Davenport at Wimbledon that year, with Steffi Graf the last at Roland Garros in 1999 against Martina Hingis.
The 21-year-old says she wants to bring ‘hope and light’ to black Americans who feel under-represented.
Coco Gauff’s run to 2025 French Open win
First round – Beat Olivia Gadecki 6-2 6-2
Second round – Beat Tereza Valentova 6-2 6-4
Third round – Beat Marie Bouzkova 6-1 7-6 [7-3]
Fourth round – Beat Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-0 7-5
Quarter-finals – Beat Madison Keys 6-7 [6-8] 6-4 6-1
Semi-finals – Beat Lois Boisson 6-1 6-2
Final – Beat Aryna Sabalenka 6-7 [5-7] 6-2 6-4
“It means a lot and obviously there’s a lot going on in our country right now,” she said.
“But just to be able to be a representation of that and a representation of, I guess, people that look like me in America who maybe don’t feel as supported during this time period, and so just being that reflection of hope and light for those people.”
Gauff won the WTA Finals in Riyadh in November, days after the re-election of US President Donald Trump.
“I remember after the election and everything, it kind of felt (a) down period a little bit,” she added. “My mum told me during Riyadh, ‘Just try to win the tournament just to give something for people to smile for’.
“So that’s what I was thinking about today when holding that (trophy).
“And then seeing the flags in the crowd means a lot. You know, some people may feel some type of way about being patriotic and things like that.
“But I’m definitely patriotic and proud to be American and I’m proud to represent the Americans that look like me and people who kind of support the things that I support.”
Gauff is scheduled to play at the Berlin Open, beginning a week on Monday, to kick off her preparations for Wimbledon.
But she said: “I haven’t thought that far ahead. Obviously I’m going to take some days off, for sure.
“I’m signed up for Berlin right now. We’ll see if I play or not. This part of the season is new just because of the fact that it’s so short and I don’t know what I’m going to do yet, but I’ll have that conversation with my team and take their opinions and see what they think is best.
“For sure I’m going to rest and enjoy it and not go into training too quickly just because I feel like this stuff doesn’t happen too often, so you’ve just got to enjoy it.”
