Coco Gauff finally has her hands on the iconic French Open trophy after winning her final against Aryna Sabalenka.
Sabalenka praised Gauff’s movement in their tussle on Court Philippe-Chatrier, where Gauff clinched her maiden French Open title.
It also represents her second Grand Slam title, following on from her 2023 US Open final win, also over Sabalenka.
Gauff has been backed to win the career Grand Slam, with Australian Open and Wimbledon titles needed to complete the feat.
Wimbledon arrives later this month, with the WTA number two having lost in the quarter-finals of the 2025 Australian Open in January.
Coco Gauff praised for ‘amazing’ French Open final win over Aryna Sabalenka
But she will currently be celebrating her French Open success over Sabalenka, having lost at the same stage to Iga Swiatek in 2022.
Sharing her verdict on her daughter’s success, Gauff’s Mom Candi told TNT Sports: “It represents what Coco alluded to before. That sometimes when you have a loss and you get down on yourself, but learn that you can pick up.
“The sun will rise the next day and keep working at your craft. If this is your passion you have to give it your all.
“What Coco did today was amazing, she never gave up, she fought until the end and she gave herself the opportunity to hold up the trophy.
“What I saw mainly was her ability to stay mentally engaged in the match and staying focused and just believing in herself.
“It’s kind of tough. This is a match, this is championship round, so you just want to make sure she does her best and I think she put it all together.”
What Coco Gauff’s Dad told her about Aryna Sabalenka before French Open final
Gauff was praised for her positive attitude ahead of the final with Sabalenka, which she went on to win 6-7(5-7), 6-2, 6-4.
She also came from behind to win their 2023 US Open final 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, having been beaten 1-6, 3-6 by Swiatek at Roland Garros the year before.
The Court Philippe-Chatrier crowd were treated to a classic encounter in Paris, even with the windy conditions making it difficult for the players to produce their best tennis.
It was a tense battle between the top two players in the world rankings, in which the 21-year-old ultimately triumphed over her 27-year-old opponent.
Gauff’s Dad Corey also shared his take on the match, saying of his daughter: “What she has always shown us. She has got an incredible ability to fight. That’s her best quality.
“She fights. She never gives up no matter what the scoreline. It looked pretty bleak the first set to be down 4-1 and down a double break but she pulled it together and kept fighting for the points.
“Before the match I told her, she is going to give you opportunities, you have to seize these opportunities and make every tough point as tough as you can so by the end of the match those points will start to take toll and she will start to miss because you cover the court so well. So her speed and her fight brought a lot to the table today to get that victory for her.”
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