What Coco Gauff wrote in note to herself before the French Open final which she copied from Olympic gold medalist

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Coco Gauff was looking to become the first American champion at Roland Garros since Serena Williams.

The 21-year-old traveled to Paris as the number two seed, having lost back-to-back WTA 1000 finals in the lead up to Roland Garros.

Determined to go one better in the French capital, Gauff dropped just one set on her way to the final.

There, she came face to face with world number one Aryna Sabalenka, who had lost their previous Grand Slam final meeting at the US Open in 2023.

History repeated itself, as Gauff defeated Sabalenka 6-7, 6-2, 6-4, to win the 2025 French Open.

After the match, Gauff revealed what she wrote to herself in a note before the tournament, an idea she copied from an Olympic gold medalist.

Coco Gauff copied Olympic champion Gabby Thomas by writing ‘I will win French Open 2025’ on a note

On social media, Gauff shared what she wrote on a note ahead of the 2025 French Open tournament.

“I will win French Open 2025. I will be the French Open 2025 champion. I will be French Open champion 2025,” the note read.

Gauff revealed who she took inspiration from when writing the note.

“Ignore my handwriting, but I saw Gabby Thomas do this. Had to do the same lol,” she said.

Gabby Thomas won three Olympic gold medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics, having picked up a bronze and a silver in Tokyo four (actually three) years earlier.

• 2024 Paris Olympic 200m – Gabby Thomas won gold
• 2024 Paris Olympics 4 X 100m – Gabby Thomas won gold
• 2024 Paris Olympics 4 x 400m – Gabby Thomas won gold
• 2020 Tokyo Olympics 4 x 100m – Gabby Thomas won silver
• 2020 Tokyo Olympics 200m – Gabby Thomas won bronze

Thomas and Gauff were both members of Team USA at last year’s Olympic Games, and now both athletes can say they won big in Paris.

Reacting to Gauff’s post on social media, Thomas sent her congratulations to the newly-crowned French Open champion.

“You deserve it all,” she said.

Having now won two of the sport’s biggest prizes (French Open and US Open), perhaps Gauff will have one eye on winning Olympic gold of her own before too long.

Will Coco Gauff be favorite for the Olympic gold medal in 2028?

On her Olympic debut, Gauff lost in the third round to eventual silver medalist Donna Vekic.

• 2024 Paris Olympics 3R – Coco Gauff lost to Donna Vekic, 6-7, 2-6
• 2024 Paris Olympics 2R – Coco Gauff beat Maria Lourdes Carle, 6-1, 6-1
• 2024 Paris Olympics 1R – Coco Gauff beat Ajla Tomljanovic, 6-3, 6-0

She’ll be hoping for a better showing in 2028, when she competes at her home Olympic Games in Los Angeles, USA.

Gauff will be 24 years old when she heads to LA three years from now, and would look to become the second player to win gold at her home games since the sport returned to the Olympic schedule in 1988.

The last player to do so was Lindsay Davenport, who won gold in 1996 at the Atlanta Games, taking down Spain’s Arantxa Sanchez Vicario in the final.

Since 1988, the Americans have enjoyed real success at the Olympic tennis event, winning gold on four occasions.

It would be tough to bet against Gauff becoming the fifth to do so, when the tournament begins three years from now.

Assuming Gauff continues on her impressive upward trajectory, the American will likely enter the event as one of the nation’s biggest stars, and a big favorite to win the title.

However, even if things don’t quite go to plan in LA, she’ll likely still have a few more chances to bring home the gold.

When Novak Djokovic won gold in 2024 as a 37-year-old at his fifth Olympic Games, he proved just that.

Coco Gauff’s chances to win Olympic gold

• 2028 LA Olympics – 24 years old
• 2032 Brisbane Olympics – 28 years old
• 2036 Olympics – 32 years old
• 2040 Olympics – 36 years old

Only time will tell if Gauff will retire from tennis as an Olympic gold medalist but it will certainly be something to look out for.

The 2028 Olympic Games in LA are scheduled to begin on July 14, 2028.