Coco Gauff turns the tide, silences Aryna Sabalenka storm to clinch maiden French Open crown
Coco Gauff is the youngest American to win the Roland Garros singles title since Serena Williams in 2002
In a pulsating French Open final—the first No. 1 versus No. 2 showdown since Serena Williams defeated Maria Sharapova in 2013—American Coco Gauff showcased remarkable resilience and tactical brilliance to silence world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, winning 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-4 on Court Philippe-Chatrier. After dropping a tense opening set, the 21-year-old kept the Belarusian powerhouse at bay, neutralising her feared power game and turning the match decisively in her favor to clinch her maiden French Open title.
Gauff is the youngest American to win the Roland Garros singles title since Serena in 2002 and the first American to win the Roland Garros singles title since the legend lifted her her crown on la terre battue in 2015. This was her second career Grand Slam. She had toppled Sabalenka to clinch her first at the US Open two years back. But this was Gauff's second Roland Garros singles final. She finished runner-up to Iga Swiatek at Paris in 2022.
The pulsating opening set delivered 78 minutes of nerve-jangling drama. Sabalenka surged ahead with a double break to lead 4-1 but soon saw her advantage evaporate — along with two set points on serve at 5-4 — as Gauff stormed back with resilience. Yet, Sabalenka displayed her trademark mental strength to edge out a tense tiebreak 7-5.
Gauff had led 4-1 and then 5-3 in the breaker, before the Belarusian reeled off two brilliant points from 5-5, sealing the set with a blazing forehand and a sublime short volley on her third set point.
In the second set, it was Gauff’s turn to show mental steel. She brushed aside the disappointment to carve out a 4-1 lead with a double break and comfortably closed it out 6-2.
Gauff carried the momentum into the decider, grabbing the mental edge with an early break. Sabalenka broke back swiftly to level the set at 3-3, only for her to concede the break on the her next service game, putting the American back in the lead. Gauff eventually served it out to win her second career Slam.
With 2000 points from the championship triump, Gauff will move from No. 5 to No. 2 in the Race to the WTA Finals Riyadh. She will also keep her career-high World No. 2 in the WTA rankings.
Sabalenka, who was aiming to clinch her first major on clay - after three hard court titles - two Australian Opens and one US Open, is now 3-3 in Slam finals, and will remain the top-ranked player in the WTA chart.
