After twelve years, the world’s number one and two in women’s tennis are facing each other again in the final at Roland Garros. Aryna Sabalenka (WTA-1) and Coco Gauff (WTA-2) follow Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova, who played the final in 2013.
Williams was the number one in the world at the time. The number two Sharapova was the defending champion. After a good start from the Russian, the American tennis legend was too strong for Sharapova in two sets: 6-4 and 6-4.
It was Williams’ second Roland Garros title of her career. Eleven years earlier, she won in the final against her sister Venus Williams, who never won the Paris gravel tournament. Serena Williams added another Roland Garros title in 2015.
Both Sabalenka and Gauff are chasing their first Roland Garros title on Saturday. Gauff was in the final in 2022, but then had to acknowledge her superior in the Polish gravel specialist Iga Swiatek. For Sabalenka, it will be her first final in Stade Philippe-Chatrier.
Sabalenka has so far only won Grand Slam titles on hard court. “It would mean a lot to me if I win on the gravel of Paris,” Sabalenka said in the run-up to the final. “My whole life I have been told that gravel is not my thing. I haven’t had confidence on this surface for a long time, but now I feel comfortable on gravel. I even like it.”
In May, Sabalenka and Gauff last faced each other in the final of the WTA gravel tournament in Madrid. The Belarusian number one in the world was then too strong for the American Gauff in two sets: 6-3 and 7-6 (3).