Coco Gauff says French Open title ‘one I really wanted’

Coco Gauff of the US holds the French Open trophy, after winning against world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus. PHOTO: AFP

UPDATED Jun 08, 2025, 04:50 AM

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PARIS - Coco Gauff said a maiden French Open trophy was “one I really wanted” after securing the title with victory over Aryna Sabalenka on June 7.

The 21-year-old secured a hard-fought 6-7 (5/7), 6-2, 6-4 win over the world number one in difficult, windy conditions at Roland Garros.

“I felt like this is one I really wanted, because I do think this was one of the tournaments that when I was younger that I felt I had the best shot of winning,” said American star Gauff.

“So I just felt like if I went through my career and didn’t get at least one of these, I would feel regrets and stuff.

“Today, playing Aryna, I was just, ‘I just gotta go for it and try my best to get through the match’.”

It was a long-awaited success for Gauff, who was in tears after losing the 2022 French Open final to Iga Swiatek as a teenager and had reached at least the quarter-finals in Paris in each of the previous four years.

“That ceremony when Iga won, I just remembered trying to take it all in and pay attention to every detail and just feel like I wanted that experience for myself,” added the world number two, who also came back from a set down to beat Sabalenka in the 2023 US Open final.