Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff could renew their rivalry at this year’s French Open, having played out an epic final last time out.
Gauff defeated Sabalenka 6-7(5-7), 6-2, 6-4 in the 2025 French Open final, claiming her second career Grand Slam title.
The American also beat the Belarusian to claim her first at the 2023 US Open, although Sabalenka does still hold a slight advantage over Gauff.
The two WTA superstars have met 13 times throughout their careers so far, with Sabalenka winning seven and Gauff winning six.
The former has now shared her feelings on the latter ahead of Roland Garros, referencing the TikTok video they did together at Wimbledon shortly after their intense battle in Paris.
How would you now rate Aryna Sabalenka’s chances of winning the French Open on a scale of 1-10?
Aryna Sabalenka says Coco Gauff ‘understands everything’
Sabalenka told Vogue: “When I got to Wimbledon last year, my first press conference was packed like crazy.
“I was like, ‘Wow, guys, are you expecting more of the French Open?’ But then we did the TikTok video.
“Coco is one of those girls who understands everything. She never gets upset or offended. If you say you’re sorry, she’s like, ‘Oh, girl, it’s okay. You’re good’.
“No one will understand you better than another athlete. I feel like all of us think, ‘Okay, I should win every match’. If you’re not thinking that way, then what are you doing?
“When you’re in the top five and you’re winning Grand Slams, it’s not okay to be okay with losing. That’s my mentality.”
Aryna Sabalenka loves seeing different WTA winners
Such a mentality has clearly worked very well for Sabalenka, who is a four-time Grand Slam champion and the current world number one.
Sharing further insight into that approach, she said of thinking deeply about losses or quickly moving on: “It’s a learning process.
“If I didn’t really care and was like, Whatever, on to the next one, I wouldn’t learn. That would be unhealthy.
“That’s the tough side of being an athlete: You cannot win everything. Your body will, at some point, stop you, limit you. But it’s also the beauty of sport.
“It’s nice, too, when somebody young and up-and-coming beats the world number one. If somebody won everything, it wouldn’t exactly be entertaining to watch.”
Who is your favorite player on the WTA Tour right now?
There have indeed been several different WTA champions this season, with Elina Svitolina most recently winning Rome.
But her two titles fall just short of Sabalenka’s tally, with the Belarusian lifting the trophies in Brisbane, Indian Wells and Miami.
She has now arrived in Paris for Roland Garros, where defending champion Gauff is seeking her first title of 2026.
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
