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Coco Gauff has finally responded to Aryna Sabalenka's controversial comments about her French Open final defeat to the American. The Belarusian claimed that Gauff won their final not because she played well but because she made a lot of errors. Sabalenka made a shocking 70 unforced errors and six double faults during the final.
Sabalenka and Gauff, the top two seeds at Roland Garros, faced each other in an entertaining final, where the latter turned fortunes in her favor to come back from a set down and win (5)6-7, 6-2, 6-4 after two hours and 38 minutes. However, the World No. 1 made controversial remarks about her defeat during the post-match press conference, which drew the ire of tennis fans.
"I think she won the match not because she played incredible. Just because I made all of those mistakes," she said.
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Coco Gauff recently appeared on Good Morning America for an interview celebrating her win. She was asked about Aryna Sabalenka's comments during the interview. It is worth noting that the Belarusian had issued a clarification over her comments at the time of this interview.
The 21-year-old maturely stated that she understands Sabalenka must've been emotional when she made those comments, and then discussed the match conditions and how both of them were at a slight disadvantage because the roof was open. She immediately geared herself up for an 'ugly win'.
"Yeah, I mean, obviously, I know she was probably a bit emotional after that match, and it was a tough loss. But honestly, when I stepped on the court, I was aware of the way we both practiced with the roof closed," she said. (2:15 onwards)
"So, I honestly wanted the roof to be closed before the match because my quarterfinal and semifinal it was closed, and I thought I was playing good tennis. But when I found out it was open, I saw how windy it was in the court, I knew it was going to be an ugly win, and whenever you play in windy conditions, if you play tennis, you know it's not going to be a perfect day on a windy court. So, I knew that going in," she added.
Coming back to the 27-year-old's comments, though Coco Gauff admitted she was taken aback by them, she was ready to give her the benefit of the doubt because of the circumstances.
"And yeah, I mean after that I was a little bit surprised about the comments and everything, but I'm going to give her the benefit of the doubt. I'm sure it was just an emotional day, an emotional match, and every time I play Aryna, she's a fighter. She's a tough opponent. I think we're like 6-5 in the head-to-head, so it's very close," Coco Gauff said.
"But yeah, I think I had to force her to play that way and make a lot of balls and put those balls in the court, so, yeah."
Aryna Sabalenka, in her clarification, stated that Gauff deserved her title but also explicitly mentioned being disappointed with her own performance.
"I'm always going to be honest and human in how I process these moments" - Aryna Sabalenka issues clarification over controversial comments over Coco Gauff defeat
One day after her controversial comments, Aryna Sabalenka issued a clarification over her aforementioned remarks about her loss to Coco Gauff in the final of the 2025 French Open on her Instagram story.
“You all know me... I'm always going to be honest and human in how I process these moments. I made over 70 unforced errors, so I can't pretend it was a great day for me,” she said.
She said both her poor performance and Gauff playing with purpose can be true at the same time, and looked to learn from her defeat.
“But both things can be true... I didn't play my best, and Coco stepped up and played with poise and purpose. She earned that title. Respect. Time to rest, learn, and come back stronger.”
During her press conference, Aryan Sabalenka had also suggested that if it were Iga Swiatek in the final instead of herself, the Pole would've won the title. However, Coco Gauff issued a firm response to express her disagreement with the comments.
