Mandatory Credit: Susan Mullane-Imagn Images

Aryna Sabalenka Issues Statement Following Backlash on Comments Toward French Open Winner Coco Gauff

Gauff won her second major following a 6-7, 6-2, 6-4 win over Sabalenka

Mandatory Credit: Susan Mullane-Imagn Images

The 2025 French Open final between world number 1 Aryna Sabalenka and world number 2 Coco Gauff took place on Saturday, June 7, which ended with the American lifting her second major. The 21-year-old won a 2-hour 38-minute, three-set battle, sealing her second Grand Slam after her triumph at Wimbledon in 2023.

Incidentally, both of Gauff’s Grand Slam wins have come at the expense of Sabalenka in the finals. The Belarusian, who was in fine form leading up to the French Open, was the favorite to win, but Gauff’s grit and superior play earned her the victory. Following the match, however, Sabalenka’s comments raised a furore amongst fans.

Sabalenka Issues Apology on Social Media

A day after the final, Sabalenka took to her Instagram account to clarify her remarks by stating that she had been mentally drained and didn’t handle herself too well. She addressed the fact that Gauff was the better player and truly deserved to win, and that she didn’t want to take anything away from Gauff.

Despite crediting the world number 2 for her play in the final on her social media post, Sabalenka also went on to add that both things can be true, referring to her playing one of the worst matches in a long time, while Gauff handled the conditions better. The Belarusian concluded the post by asserting that it was time to rest, but to come back stronger.

Aryna Sabalenka releases a statement saying she wants to give Coco Gauff the credit she deserves:

“I made over 70 unforced errors, so I can't pretend it was a great day for me.
But both things can be true… I didn't play my best, and Coco stepped up and played with poise and… pic.twitter.com/Ruc3opdvpd
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) June 8, 2025

Sabalenka Discredits Gauff’s Play in Post-Match Interview

During her post-match interview, a clearly dejected Sabalenka said that the conditions became more windy and she made many unforced errors, which was why Gauff won the match, and not because she played incredible tennis.

“I think it was more windy. Also, I think I was overemotional. Today, I didn’t handle myself quite well mentally. Basically that’s it. I was just making unforced errors. I don’t know. I have to check the statistics. I think she won the match not because she played incredible. Just because I made all of those mistakes.”

"(Coco) won the match not because she played incredible, just because I made all of those mistakes."

-Aryna Sabalenka on struggling with the conditions and how she handled herself mentally pic.twitter.com/IQB6iS1wM9
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 7, 2025

While Sabalenka was right to criticize her own performance as she was broken 9 times and made 70 unforced errors, Gauff played a really good match, handling the conditions well and keeping her emotions in check, something the number 1 seed didn’t put too much emphasis on.

In fact, Sabalenka even mentioned that had Iga Swiatek played in the final, she would have defeated Gauff, another statement that did not sit well with fans and the tennis world in particular.

“If Iga had beaten me the other day, I think she’d come out today and get the win. It just hurts. I’ve been playing really well, and then in the last match, to go out there and do what I did, it hurts.”

Also Read: Carlos Alcaraz Proves That ‘Spanish Never Die’ in the Greatest Heist to Retain French Open Crown vs Jannik Sinner

Uproar on Social Media

Following these comments, Sabalenka faced severe backlash on social media from the tennis community, with many unhappy with the way she discredited the American’s superior performance.

Several fans called out the 3-time Grand Slam winner, suggesting she was classless and distasteful in her media interview as she refused to acknowledge Gauff’s talent and gave her zero credit for the win.

2025 French Open

Aryna Sabalenka

Coco Gauff

Tennis

Devavrat Kulkarni

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I am a content writer for the NFL team, and joined The Playoffs after working with Sportskeeda and NFL Analysis as an NFL writer. After starting my professional career as a French-to-English translator, working as a content writer is a new adventure for me. I started out in the sports media field for two main reasons: my love for sports in general, especially the NFL, NBA, and Tennis, as well as my passion for writing. The best part of this job is that I get to write a variety of pieces with the freedom to explore content from various angles. It also enables me to stay up to date with the sporting world, which otherwise can be difficult to do in the day-to-day grind. In a world full of chaos, sports unite and entertain like nothing else!