Second seed Coco Gauff became the first American woman to win a French Open title since 2015, defeating top seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-4 on Saturday in Paris.
The 21-year-old Gauff needed two hours and 38 minutes to win her second Grand Slam title. She won the U.S. Open in 2023.
In a captivating first set, neither player was at her best, each losing serve four times with Sabalenka committing 32 unforced errors on the clay court at Roland Garros.
Sabalenka opened a 4-1 lead, but Gauff fought back to even the match at 4-4. From that point, neither won a game on her serve in that set. Sabalenka had two set points, serving up 5-4, but couldn’t convert, with the set winding up in a tiebreaker. Gauff jumped to a 3-0 lead in the tiebreaker but couldn’t hold on.
Gauff didn’t allow the disappointing first set to impact her game, however. She didn’t let Sabalenka, whose frustration grew as the match went on, back into it, thwarting the World No. 1 every time she appeared to gain momentum.
Sabalenka won just 48 percent of first-serve points on her powerful serve, with Gauff winning 60 percent.
Gauff finished with 30 winners and 30 unforced errors, with Sabalenka totaling 37 and 70, respectively.
With the win, Gauff improved to 6-5 against Sabalenka, 27.
Serena Williams was the most recent American woman to win at Roland Garros, doing so three times (2002, 2013, 2015). Gauff is the seventh American to win the women’s singles title.
Chris Evert won seven times in Paris between 1974 and 1986.
–Field Level Media
