Aryna Sabalenka has lost another Grand Slam final, as her record falls to 0-2 in 2025.
The Belarusian had the better of things early on in the French Open final but couldn’t finish the job.
After Sabalenka won the first set 7-6 [7-5] in a tense tiebreaker, Gauff fought back to send the final into a decider.
There, Gauff secured the win over Sabalenka, 6-7, 6-2, 6-4, clinching her maiden Roland Garros title in the process.
Disappointed with her second consecutive Grand Slam final defeat, Sabalenka made a controversial statement in her post-match press conference that hasn’t gone down well with fans.
Aryna Sabalenka controversially claims Iga Swiatek would’ve beaten Coco Gauff in the final
During her post-match press conference, Sabalenka predicted who would’ve won if Iga Swiatek had played Gauff in the final.
“That hurts. Especially when you’ve been playing really good tennis all week,” she said.
“If Iga [Swiatek] had beaten me the other day, I think she would have gone out today and gotten the win.
“It just hurts. I’ve been playing really well, and then in the last match, going out there and doing what I did, it hurts.”
In the semi-finals, Sabalenka beat Swiatek, handing the Pole her first loss at the event since 2021.
Fans were disappointed to hear Sabalenka make such a claim, arguing the comments were disrespectful to the new French Open champion.
“That’s so disappointing and unnecessary from [Aryna] Sabalenka. I do understand her frustration, but this wasn’t good,” said one fan on X.
“Wow… That’s disappointing to hear Saba say this,” added another.
“So disrespectful to Gauff… Not a good look,” said one fan.
“Damn, sore loser. It’s good she respects Iga (I also think she would win in these conditions), but not like that, come on,” added another disgruntled fan.
One fan argued the best players in the men’s game would never have made such a comment.
“Can you imagine Carlitos [Carlos Alcaraz] or [Jannik] Sinner saying anything like this (same for Rafa [Nadal] or Roger [Federer])? Jesus! This Sabalenka woman is an insult to tennis,” they said.
Sabalenka went on to reflect on her own performance, which she believes was her worst in ‘two months’.
“I guess you just have to, again, take a step back, learn, and go out there and be better, but right now I don’t know how not to be hard on myself,” she said.
“Honestly, it’s the worst match I’ve played in the last two months.
“I wouldn’t mind playing like that in, I don’t know, the fourth round or the quarterfinals, but in a Grand Slam final, it’s a little… not right.”
Sabalenka will now have to regroup ahead of Wimbledon, where she’ll resume her bid for a fourth Major title.
Would Iga Swiatek have beaten Coco Gauff if they’d played in the French Open final?
The Belarusian star is being heavily criticised online for suggesting Gauff would’ve lost to Swiatek, but does she have a point?
Swiatek does have a convincing lead in the head-to-head over Gauff, although it’s fair to say the tide has turned recently.
| Match | Winner | Loser | Score |
| 2025 Madrid Open – SF | Coco Gauff | Iga Swiatek | 6-1, 6-1 |
| 2025 United Cup – F | Coco Gauff | Iga Swiatek | 6-4, 6-4 |
| 2024 WTA Finals – RR | Coco Gauff | Iga Swiatek | 6-3, 6-4 |
| 2024 French Open – SF | Iga Swiatek | Coco Gauff | 6-2, 6-4 |
| 2024 Rome – SF | Iga Swiatek | Coco Gauff | 6-4, 6-3 |
| 2023 WTA Finals – RR | Iga Swiatek | Coco Gauff | 6-0, 7-5 |
| 2023 Beijing – SF | Iga Swiatek | Coco Gauff | 6-2, 6-3 |
| 2023 Cincinnati – SF | Coco Gauff | Iga Swiatek | 7-6, 3-6, 6-4 |
| 2023 French Open – QF | Iga Swiatek | Coco Gauff | 6-4, 6-2 |
| 2023 Dubai – SF | Iga Swiatek | Coco Gauff | 6-4, 6-2 |
| 2022 WTA Finals – RR | Iga Swiatek | Coco Gauff | 6-3, 6-0 |
| 2022 San Diego – QF | Iga Swiatek | Coco Gauff | 6-0, 6-3 |
| 2022 French Open – F | Iga Swiatek | Coco Gauff | 6-1, 6-3 |
| 2022 Miami – 4R | Iga Swiatek | Coco Gauff | 6-3, 6-1 |
| 2021 Rome – SF | Iga Swiatek | Coco Gauff | 7-6, 6-3 |
The Pole leads her American rival 11-4 in the head-to-head, but has lost their last three WTA Tour meetings.
Gauff beat Swiatek at the Madrid Open 6-1, 6-1 in May, handing the five-time Major champion her worst clay-court defeat in six years.
Perhaps Sabalenka was solely looking at Swiatek and Gauff’s head-to-head record at Roland Garros when making her controversial claim, which in fairness, does heavily favor the 23-year-old.
Swiatek beat Gauff at the 2022, 2023, and 2024 French Open, as the American failed to win a set on all three occasions.
One of those defeats came in a final, as Swiatek dominated Gauff 6-1, 6-3, in the 2021 championship match.
The reality is we will never know who would have won the French Open final if Swiatek had played Gauff, but the American likely won’t care, and why should she?
Standing on top of the tennis world once more, Gauff is a well-deserved two-time Grand Slam champion.
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