PARIS (AP) — While Coco Gauff was taking selfies on Court Philippe-Chatrier to celebrate her triumph on the Parisian clay, her opponent on the other side of the umpire's chair was filled with anger and sadness.
As Roland-Garros officials prepared the court for the trophy ceremony, Aryna Sabalenka sat with her gaze lost in the distance before she took a towel and covered her face. And when it finally came time to speak, Sabalenka was silent for a long moment, as if on the verge of tears.
The assessment of her own performance, when she finally took the microphone to address the Roland-Garros crowd, was ruthless.
"Honestly guys, this one hurts so much," she said. "To show such terrible tennis in the final does really hurt."
The top-ranked Sabalenka won the first set as her high-risk approach brought dividends initially. But once Gauff found her stride, the Belarusian's errors became more and more frequent and she lost the match between the world's two highest-ranked players 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-4.
Sabalenka hit 37 winners but finished the match with a staggering 70 unforced errors — compared to Gauff's 30. Sabalenka also dropped her serve nine times.
"I think I was overemotional," she said. "I didn't really handle myself quite well mentally, I would say. So basically that's it. I was just making unforced errors. I think she won the match not because she played incredible; just because I made all of those mistakes from — like, if you look from the outside, kind of like from easy balls."
The disappointment was even greater given that Sabalenka has worked hard to adapt her game to the slow surface over the years, and after she ended Iga Swiatek's 26-match unbeaten streak at the French Open in the semifinals.
"You've been playing against a lot of tough opponents, Olympic champion, Iga, and then you go out, and you play really bad," she said during her post-match interview. "It was honestly the worst tennis I've played in the last, I don't know how many months."
Sabalenka also complained about the weather conditions. The retractable roof over the center court remained open during the final, and Sabalenka was visibly annoyed by bursts of wind sweeping across the court.
"Conditions were terrible," the three-time major champion said. "When she would hit the ball, at some point the wind would just let the ball fly like crazy, and you know, I was late every time."
This was the second major final Sabalenka lost to Gauff, after the 2023 U.S. Open, where she also won the first set. Sabalenka had won their most recent meeting on clay this year in Madrid and thought she had the weapons to beat the American on the biggest stage.
"It's another tough Grand Slam final against Coco," Sabalenka said. "Another terrible performance from me against Coco in the final. I have to step back, look at this from a perspective, and try to finally learn the lesson, because I cannot go out there every time against her in Grand Slam finals and play such terrible tennis and give those wins, not easily, but emotionally."
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