Lindsay Davenport tells Aryna Sabalenka the reason why she lost to Coco Gauff in the Roland Garros final, ‘it cost her’ 

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Aryna Sabalenka came up short in her maiden French Open final against Coco Gauff.

The WTA number one was searching for her fourth Major title in Paris and looked in good shape to do so, dropping just one set on her way to the final.

Standing between Sabalenka and French Open glory was the number two seed, Gauff, who herself had dropped just one set all tournament.

It was Sabalenka who started the better of the two, winning a tight first set 7-6 in a tiebreaker, before the American fought back.

Battling through in three sets, Gauff defeated Sabalenka, 6-7, 6-2, 6-4, to win her second Grand Slam title.

Reacting to the Belarusian’s second consecutive Grand Slam final defeat, Lindsay Davenport highlighted the main reason why Sabalenka lost.

Lindsay Davenport says Aryna Sabalenka’s ‘moaning’ cost her the French Open title

Speaking to TNT Sports after the match, Davenport gave her verdict on why Sabalenka lost to Gauff.

“It [the moaning] cost [Aryna] Sabalenka,” she said.

“She expended so much energy getting upset and looking at her camp, frustrated with herself, and on the other side of the net, Coco [Gauff] gave up zero emotional energy.

“She went out there and was like I am not going to let anything bother me, I am going to be very steady.”

Davenport says Sabalenka turned back the clock during her defeat to Gauff, and not in a good way.

“Aryna was shades of a couple of years ago when her emotions would get the better of her,” she said.

“A lot of us thought she was past that, being number one in the world and having all these Grand Slam titles, but it all kind of came out here.”

The American was reminded of another Sabalenka/Gauff classic when watching the 2025 French Open final.

“Honestly, the match played out like the US Open final a couple of years ago, it was the same thing,” said Davenport.

“Sabalenka got so frustrated that she could not focus on the task at hand, which was building points in very difficult conditions.”

Gauff beat Sabalenka 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, in the final of the 2023 US Open to clinch her first Major title.

Since then, Gauff had lost three of her four WTA Tour encounters with Sabalenka, tying the head-to-head up at 5-5.

Securing victory in the French Open final, Gauff regained the advantage and now leads her Belarusian rival 6-5.

Aryna Sabalenka loses second Grand Slam final in a row

The world number one has achieved the impressive feat of reaching the first two Major finals of the year, but in heartbreaking fashion, lost both.

In January, Sabalenka lost to Madison Keys in a three-set thriller at the Australian Open, narrowly coming up short against the American star.

She’ll now look to regroup ahead of Wimbledon, the year’s next Grand Slam event, where she fell at the semi-final stage in 2021 and 2023 (her two previous visits).

When the WTA Tour heads onto grass, there is rarely a clear favorite, as different names often shock the field to win titles.

Sabalenka’s game does suit the surface, however, and she will likely be tough to beat if she plays at her best this year.

The 27-year-old missed Wimbledon last year due to injury and will no doubt be itching to return to the All England Club in 2025, searching for her maiden title.

Having lost back-to-back Grand Slam finals, you’d surely back Sabalenka to finally get over the line and add a fourth Major to her collection should she make the final at Wimbledon next month.

The 2025 Wimbledon tournament is scheduled to begin on Monday, June 30.