Coco Gauff Battles Back to Beat Sabalenka in French Open Final

Coco Gauff claimed her second Grand Slam title with a gutsy 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-4 victory over world number one Aryna Sabalenka in Saturday’s French Open final, avenging her 2022 Roland Garros heartbreak in a match defined by resilience and grit.

Gauff, ranked No. 2, overturned a first-set deficit for the second time in a Slam final against Sabalenka, having done the same at the 2023 US Open.

Her latest triumph, after two hours and 38 minutes on a windswept Court Philippe Chatrier, marked another career milestone at just 21.

Sabalenka, who came into the match seeking a third different major title, began dominantly but crumbled under pressure and the Parisian gusts, committing 70 unforced errors, the most by any woman in this year’s tournament.

It was her second straight final defeat after losing to Madison Keys in Melbourne.

The Belarusian stormed to a 4-1 lead in the opening set, exploiting early nerves from Gauff.

But the American responded superbly, saving set points and forcing a tie-break with a flurry of breaks.

Sabalenka, despite missing chances and faltering on serve, finally closed out the set in a marathon 77 minutes, the longest opening set in a women’s Slam final since 2002.

Gauff struck back with poise in the second. She raced to a double-break lead at 4-1 and this time stayed solid, finishing the set with a sharp smash at the net.

The deciding set saw Sabalenka broken twice, the second time to love, as Gauff’s consistency and movement outlasted the top seed’s power game.

Serving for the title at 5-4, Gauff saved a break point and missed her first championship chance but didn’t falter again. On her second opportunity, she sealed the win and fell to the clay in disbelief.

“This means so much. I didn’t think I could do it,” Gauff said, reflecting on her emotional journey since her 2022 final loss to Iga Swiatek. “I think I was lying to myself that I definitely could.”

For Sabalenka, defeat was crushing. “To show such terrible tennis in the final, it does really hurt,” she said.

This final marked the first meeting between the WTA’s top two in a Slam final since 2018 and Gauff now leads their head-to-head 6-5, reinforcing her place among the sport’s elite.