Aryna Sabalenka burst into tears after her defeat in the Roland Garros final. The world number one lost a grueling match to Coco Gauff on Saturday.
“This hurts so much,” Sabalenka said about her defeat. “Especially after two tough weeks in which we showed great tennis under these difficult conditions. It really hurts to play so badly in the final.”
The 27-year-old Sabalenka started the final strongly and won the first set in a tiebreak. But throughout the first set, more and more mistakes crept into her game. In the entire match, the Belarusian made no less than seventy unforced errors.
“In these tough conditions, Coco was simply better than me,” Sabalenka concluded. “I want to thank everyone for their support. Sorry for this terrible final.”
Gauff: ‘I thought I couldn’t do it’
Gauff, like Sabalenka, suffered from the wind, but dominated the rallies after the first set. The American came out on top after more than 2.5 hours and won Roland Garros for the first time.
The 21-year-old Gauff thanked the spectators in Paris for their support over the past two weeks and especially in the final. “I don’t know where I earned so much support from the French public.”
In 2022, Gauff lost in the Roland Garros final to Iga Swiatek, but now she succeeded. “I thought I couldn’t do it, but maybe I was kidding myself.”