Aryna Sabalenka issued a statement clarifying her comments about Coco Gauff’s victory in the French Open after facing backlash for her postgame press conference.
“Yesterday was a tough one,” Sabalenka, 27, said via her Instagram Story on Sunday, June 8. “Coco handled the conditions much better than I did and fully deserved the win. She was the better player yesterday, and I want to give her the credit she earned.”
She continued, “You all know me … I’m always going to be honest and human in how I process these moments. I made over 70 unforced errors, so I can’t pretend it was a great day for me. Both things can be true … I didn’t play my best, and Coco stepped up and played with poise and purpose. She earned that title. Respect.”
Sabalenka concluded her message by saying it’s now “time to rest, learn and come back stronger.”
The Belarusian tennis star initially made headlines after the match on Saturday, June 7, when she said that defending champion Iga Świątek would have beaten Gauff, 21, if she’d made the final.
“I think [Iga] would go out today and she would get the win. It just hurts. Honestly hurts,” Sabalenka told reporters. “I’ve been playing really well, and then in the last match, [to] go out there and perform like I did, that’s hurt.”
She continued, “[Coco] was hitting the ball from the frame. Somehow magically the ball lands in the court. It felt like a joke, honestly, like somebody from above was there laughing, like, ‘Let’s see if you can handle this. … I think she won the match not because she played incredible, just because I made all of those mistakes.”
In her own press conference, Gauff — who was ranked No. 2 in the world prior to Saturday’s final — pushed back on her opponent’s assessment.
“I mean, I don’t agree with that,” she replied, sitting beside her French Open trophy. “I’m here sitting here [as the champion]. No shade to Iga or anything, but last time I played her I won in straight sets. I don’t think that’s a fair thing to say, because anything can really happen.”
Gauff defeated Sabalenka 6-7, 6-2, 6-4 in the women’s singles match on Saturday — the first French Open final between the world No. 1 and 2 since 2013 (and a rematch of the Madrid final five weeks prior, which Sabalenka won). With the win at Paris’ Roland Garros, Gauff earned her first French Open singles title and second major singles title overall. She also became the first American woman to win the title since Serena Williams in 2015. Gauff and Sabalenka previously faced off in the 2023 US Open final, which Gauff also won.
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