By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Saturday, June 7, 2025
Picture credit score: Julien De Rosa/AFP/Getty
Tears trickled down her cheeks as an anguished Aryna Sabalenka tried to make sense of the emotional wreckage.
Within the first French Open ultimate between the world’s high two girls in 12 years, No. 2 Coco Gauff was just too powerful for No. 1 Sabalenka at crunch time right now.
A resilient Coco Gauff combated Aryna Sabalenka’s fierce energy with pure poise pulling off a 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-4 comeback to seize her maiden Roland Garros championship in a thriller.
Afterward, the world’s greatest participant referred to as it her worst ultimate.
“It was actually truthfully the worst tennis I’ve performed within the final, I do not know, within the final I do not know what number of month,” Sabalenka informed the media in Paris afterward. “Situations had been horrible, and she or he merely was higher in these situations than me. I believe it was the worst ultimate I ever performed.”
Contesting her third straight main ultimate, Sabalenka fell to 3-3 lifetime in Grand Slam title matches.
The 21-year-old Gauff improved to 6-5 lifetime vs. Sabalenka exhibiting she’s not fearful of the Belarusian’s energy and exuding a love of a great struggle moderately than fretting the battle when it will get tight.
After gutting out the opening set tiebreaker, Sabalenka spent a lot of this match preventing battles on a number of fronts.
The highest seed was attempting to tame her drives amid a tempestuous wind that typically gusted previous 25 mph, pierce the speedy Gauff’s vaunted protection and ability making her opponent play another ball, and soothe the volcanic mood that erupted at occasions as her dream dissolve within the grime.
Regardless of all that drama and self-sabotage, Sabalenka nonetheless fought again from 1-3 down within the decider and gained a break level within the ultimate recreation earlier than Gauff drew two ultimate errors to shut a someday sloppy, however persistently pulsating ultimate in two hours, 38 minutes.
The highest seed mentioned at occasions she felt the tennis universe was enjoying a cosmic joke on her with Gauff’s operating retrievals turning Sabalenka’s damaging drives into punch traces.
“I imply, truthfully typically it felt like she was hitting the ball from the body,” Sabalenka mentioned. “In some way magically the ball lands within the court docket, and also you sort of, like, on the again foot.
“It felt like a joke, truthfully, like someone from above was simply staying there laughing, like, let’s have a look at for those who can deal with this. And I could not right now. I actually hope the subsequent time we play, if it should be the identical situations, I will play most likely just a little bit smarter, not over-rush issues, and yeah, attempt to keep there and attempt to struggle.”
Many will slam Sabalenka for her post-match remarks, nevertheless it’s essential to use some perspective, too.
The adrenaline from this battle was nonetheless coursing via her veins when Sabalenka walked into her post-match presser. Looking back, she might properly have been wiser to take a break to attempt to clear her head earlier than assembly the media. It was Sabalenka’s second straight Slam ultimate loss to an underdog American opponent following Madison Keys’ epic Australian Open ultimate upset.
A brave Keys dethroned two-time defending champion Sabalenka 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 in an inspirational AO showdown pitting premier energy gamers that escalated into gorgeous slugfest on Rod Laver Area.
The Nineteenth-seeded Keys drilled a diagonal forehand winner closing the primary girls’s main ultimate to go to 5-all within the decider since Serena Williams edged Victoria Azarenka within the 2012 US Open ultimate.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWQ24XRtz0Q
So Sabalenka was favored within the final two main finals solely to fall frustratingly brief.
If Sabalenka ever critiques a replay of this match, she is going to see areas of enchancment tactically, emotionally and competitively.
When stress got here, Sabalenka tried to resolve it by squeezing pictures nearer to the traces—particularly on her down the road drives. As an alternative, she scattered 70 unforced errors.
You may’t fault Sabalenka for focusing on Gauff’s weaker forehand wing—it’s a standard tactic and the world is aware of the Delray Seashore-born baseliner possesses one of the crucial damaging two-handed backhands within the recreation—however to serve practically completely to that forehand on the deuce court docket, the Belarusian mainly performed Gauff right into a groove on that forehand return. She’s No. 2 on the planet for those who’re telegraphing your serve to her all through the match, what do you suppose will occur?
The US Open champion is a worthy world No. 1, however Gauff was clearly the extra composed competitor who met each disaster level as a problem she might clear up, whereas Sabalenka was grunting, screaming and typically wailing at her field wanting just a little like a flustered contender fretting her time on the salmon stage moderately than the world’s premier participant.
This loss will sting for fairly a very long time.
A disconsolate Sabalenka mentioned she is going to deal with the ache with a panacea: Tequila and Gummy Bears.
“I have already got a flight booked to Mykonos and alcohol, sugar,” Sabalenka mentioned. “I simply want couple of days to fully neglect about this loopy world and this loopy—if I might swear, I’d swear proper now, however this loopy factor that occurred right now…
“Tequila, gummy bears, and I do not know, swimming, being just like the vacationer for couple of days.”
