In an engrossing championship clash between the top two players, No. 2 seed Coco Gauff pulled off a three-set comeback against World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka to win her first French singles title and second Grand Slam singles title on Saturday.
After narrowly losing a mesmerizing, back-and-forth first set, Gauff rebounded spectacularly to register 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-4 win over Sabalenka after 2 hours and 38 minutes.
Three years after her runner-up showing at 2022 Roland Garros, Gauff now adds the French Open crown to her 2023 US Open title.
“I honestly didn’t think I could do it,” said Gauff said during the trophy presentation.
Notably, Gauff is the first American in a decade to triumph in Paris, since Serena Williams won her third French Open title in 2015.
At 21 years old, Gauff also became the youngest American to win the Roland Garros title since Serena Williams’ first French Open title in 2002.
Meanwhile Sabalenka nearly became the only active woman to have won singles titles at three of the four Grand Slam events, but she was outfoxed by Gauff. Gauff had seven fewer winners than Sabalenka in the final — but 40 fewer unforced errors.
“This hurts so much. Congratulations to Coco – she was a better player than me,” said Sabalenka.
After picking up 2,000 points for winning her second Slam title, Gauff will rise from No. 5 to No. 2 in the Race to the WTA Finals Riyadh. She will also maintain her career-high World No. 2 spot in the PIF WTA Rankings.
On the other hand, Sabalenka falls to 3-3 in Grand Slam finals, but she will still remain No. 1 in both the WTA Rankings and the Race to the WTA Finals Riyadh by large margins.
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