Gauff Explains Why She Chose To Defend Sabalenka After Disrespectful Comments
NewsSunday, 29 June 2025 at 21:34
Coco Gauff defended Aryna Sabalenka more than anyone else after the Belarusian's controversial comments about her, and she explained why.
Despite many great storylines unfolding over two weeks at Roland Garros, it was a moment after the final of the women's singles that stole all the spotlight. Sabalenka was very disappointed after losing the final, feeling like she beat herself.
In a matchup in which Sabalenka is the attacking players and Gauff is the one defending, the WTA World No. 1 could have felt like she was the one beating herself by making many unforced errors, but what she failed to recognize was that it was her opponent who made her make those errors by being great defensively.
Since then, Sabalenka has apologized for her comments, and Gauff clearly accepted the apology. The two have recorded a TikTok dance together in London, as they shared a practice session ahead of Wimbledon.
Naturally, during her pre-tournament press conference, Gauff was asked about taking the "high road" and whether it was tempting not to. She admitted it was tempting, but chose to defend Sabalenka, mostly because of the hate that the Belarusian was receiving.
"It was very weird. I mean, at first, I'm transparent, it was a little tempting, because the apology came a little bit later, I thought it was gonna come pretty quick."
"But after that, I'm not the person who will fuel hate in the world. I think people were taking it too far. It wasn't even holding someone accountable. It was just really targeting and saying a lot of things that I felt were not nice. I didn't want to fuel that more."
Gauff explained that initially, she didn't know what Sabalenka exactly said. She was just told something during her press conference in Paris, and she didn't want to react to something she didn't hear herself.
"I think, immediately after my press conference, I didn't know exactly what was said, I was going based on what someone was saying in the press conference, so I didn't want to say anything unless I saw exactly what was said."
After hearing Sabalenka's words, Gauff still chose to defend the World No. 1 player. She feels like she is a role model not just to her siblings, but to the next generation, and this is the message she wants to show to the world.
"I preach love, I preach light, and I feel like I just practice what I preach. If someone were to say something, I feel like, most of the time, I'm always going to try my best to take the high road. I can't promise in the future I won't, but I try to, because that's what I would want someone to look up to, and I'm thinking about my brothers watching me, and that's what I would want them to do."
Gauff will kick off her Wimbledon campaign against Dayana Yastremska. For the American player, it will be her first tournament as a two-time Grand Slam champion.
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