"Even Coco Gauff must be tired of that question" - Fans annoyed by Stephen A. Smith slamming Aryna Sabalenka as a 'sore loser' over French Open drama

Stephen A. Smith's take on Aryna Sabalenka's comments against Coco Gauff after the 2025 French Open finals drew annoyed reactions from fans. Gauff trailed in the first two sets but recovered in the third to claim her second Grand Slam title at Roland Garros.

Coco Gauff made waves at the 2023 US Open, defeating Aryna Sabalenka in three sets to win her maiden major title, becoming the first American teenager to achieve so since Serena Williams in 1999. In the 2025 French Open, Gauff repeated her feat, trouncing the World No.1 Sabalenka to claim her maiden French Open title.

Following Gauff's heroics, Sabalenka was dismissive of her, but the American No. 2 has always remained grounded in her replies. Recently, sports journalist and actor Stephen A. Smith shared his opinions about Sabalenka's move and called her a 'sore loser' in an ESPN interview.

"This ain't the first time you beat her. You beat her in 2023, you beat her again this time around. Aryna Sabalenka, that's her name. I'm bringing her up because even though she was the No.1 player in the world, I don't think she should be that way now, not after this loss; it should be you. But I'm asking, what is her problem? I mean, somebody got to ask this question. She came across as a very sore loser."

Smith's reaction drew the attention of several X fans, who reproved him for opining on the situation unpleasantly.

A fan thought that it was enough for Coco Gauff to be receiving the same question again.

"Even Coco must be tired of that question by now"

Another fan called Smith 'hilarious' and sided with the claim that Gauff should be No.1.

"Yeah, shame on whoever isn’t putting Coco at #1! Who’s responsible for that? SAS is hilarious"

Another X user caught Smith for using tactics to make Gauff throw shade at Sabalenka.

"I didn't like how he was trying to get her to say something nasty. The joke is on him tho bc she defended Aryna in this interview and told ppl to cut her some slack"

Here are some reactions:

"Stephen A. just want to bring more drama outta this," a fan tweeted.

'Steven A Smith. On behalf of every tennis fan. Please stop getting involved in our sport," a fan commented.

Coco Gauff urged fans to cut Aryna Sabalenka some slack amid criticisms

Coco Gauff at the French Open winner Coco Gauff photocall in Paris - (Source: Getty)

Despite constantly being asked to share her thoughts about Sabalenka's comments, Coco Gauff urged people to be considerate towards the latter. In an ESPN interview, she stated that she earned the win and wouldn't want to ponder over the criticism too much.

"The comments after the match. Those comments, I was a little bit surprised by them, but at the end of the day, what happened happened. I won because I earned that win, and we both had to play in the wind. We both had to deal with those conditions. I did not feel great on the court at all. I went down 4-1 and thought I was playing the worst tennis of the tournament, but the difference was that I was able to recognise that and find a different way to win that match."

She added:

“But she was probably emotional about it, so I am not going to take it with too much anything. And I do hope that people give her a little bit of slack, too."

Coco Gauff's Roland Garros achievement was the first for an American player since Serena Williams in 2015.