Coco Gauff Wins Her Maiden Roland Garros And Second Career Grand Slam Title

Coco Gauff bested Aryna Sabalenka in an epic Roland Garros final to win her second career Grand Slam trophy.

After long decades, the two highest-ranked players in both men's and women's singles reached the final at Roland Garros. In the women's singles final, which was played first, the top-seeded Sabalenka took on the second-seeded Gauff.

Both cruised through the draw to reach the final, with each player losing only one set in the French capital this year. Gauff lost a set to Madison Keys in the quarter-finals, while Sabalenka lost a set to Iga Swiatek in the semi-finals of the tournament.

For the Belarusian, it was already her sixth Grand Slam final, but only her first French Open final. On the other hand, Gauff played only her third major final, but already her second on the Court Philippe Chatrier, having contested the 2022 Roland Garros final before.

Gauff lost that final in 2022, but she lifted her first major trophy in 2023, beating Sabalenka in the US Open final. Up until this year, it was the only Grand Slam final that the Belarusian player lost in her tennis career.

Sabalenka certainly aimed for revenge, and she couldn't have started better. The WTA World No. 1 player broke her opponent's serve already in the third game, while winning nine points in a row. A couple of games later, Sabalenka added another break and led already 4-1.

Up 4-1 and 40-0, it seemed that the three-time Grand Slam champion would quickly end the first set, but out of nowhere, Gauff went on to win 12 points in a row, completely changing the momentum of the set by levelling the score at 4-all.

But Sabalenka broke the American's serve once more to lead 5-4, and this time, she served for the set. Despite having two set points, Sabalenka lost her serve in a 12-minute game, which was the longest of the first set, with Gauff converting her fifth break point in that game.

But Gauff then lost her serve again, and down 5-6, her opponent had a chance to serve out the set once more. But Sabalenka just didn't seem to be able to win the first set before it reached the tie-break, which Gauff forced thanks to a beautiful backhand down the line.

But despite all of her heroics and having a 4-1 lead in the tie-break, Gauff couldn't complete the first-set comeback. Sabalenka played the crucial points better, and after falling behind early on, she won the tie-break 7-5, winning the first set like she did in 2023 when these two met in New York.

But like in 2023, Gauff started her comeback in the second set. Mirroring Sabalenka's performance from the first set, the second seed was up by two breaks at 4-1, and continuing to mirror the first set, the American also lost one of the breaks.

However, Gauff didn't completely lose her lead. In fact, she immediately increased it once again, and after winning eight points in a row, the 21-year-old won the second set of the match 6-2, forcing a decider.

The first two sets were a proper rollercoaster, and the same could be said about the third set as well. Gauff started with a break, but after failing to use two more break points to lead 4-1 again, the American lost her advantage, and at 3-3 in the third set, it was game on again.

Gauff wasn't shaken by losing her advantage. On the contrary, the American once again went on a point-winning streak, breaking Sabalenka's serve and confirming the break with a hold to lead 5-3.

The American was then two points away from winning the match at 40-all on Sabalenka's serve, but the top seed managed to postpone the first match point of this match for a couple of minutes.

Up 5-4, Gauff served for the set and created her first championship point opportunity. However, she couldn't convert it after Sabalenka's superb return. The Belarusian tried to use that point to completely change the momentum of the match, even having a break-back point. But she tried to be too aggressive.

Gauff kept her cool, as did her mother, who appeared to be praying in the American's box. Gauff created another championship point chance, and this time, she used it, winning the match 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-4 to lift her second career Grand Slam trophy and first at Roland Garros.