Aryna Sabalenka reached the French Open final for the first time but couldn't cross the final hurdle in the form of Coco Gauff.
Emotions got the better of Aryna Sabalenka when she lost the French Open final to Coco Gauff. She implied that her defeat was a result of terrible tennis from her side and later, she claimed that, had Iga Swiatek played Gauff in the final, she would have won the title.
Sabalenka received a lot of criticism due to these comments from fans as well as several former players. Later she took to Instagram to clarify her comments.
During the Berlin Open, Sabalenka admitted she was “completely unprofessional” and revealed that she texted Gauff about the same. The American urged the critics to move on from this incident and later said she appreciated that the Belarusian contacted her. Serena Williams‘ former coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, now gave his verdict on the same. He said on Instagram:
First of all, I really love that Aryna was able to take distance, reflect, and come back with some comments about her final and the commentaries she made about the match against Coco. We all go through moments when we have too much emotion, and it’s not the mind that speaks, it’s the emotions.
Gauff took a 6-5 head-to-head record over the three-time Grand Slam singles champion. It was her second Major title in singles following the 2023 US Open.
The emotional level, and I went through that with Serena many times. I know how much emotion it brings, and when you lose and you feel like you had the match in your hands, there is nothing more painful. I think she was at the highest possible pain at that moment.
The French Open was Gauff’s first title of the season. Before this event, she was the finalist in Madrid and Rome, losing the matches to Sabalenka and Jasmine Paolini, respectively.
After the French Open, Gauff kick-started her campaign on the grass at the Berlin Open but she succumbed to a straight-set defeat in her opening round match against eventual runner-up Wang Xinyu. Gauff will next chase her first grass-court title at Wimbledon which starts on June 30. The 21-year-old has never progressed beyond the fourth round and last year, compatriot Emma Navarro ended her run in the last 16.
Jannik Sinner’s team pays the price after his defeat to Aryna Sabalenka
After her French Open defeat, Aryna Sabalenka participated at the Berlin Open to start her grass-court campaign. The World No.1 moved to the semifinal, only to lose to eventual champion Marketa Vondrousova.
The 27-year-old has landed in London and is preparing for Wimbledon where she was the semifinalist in 2021 and 2023 and skipped it last year because of an injury. On Monday, she and men’s No.1 Jannik Sinner practiced together on the Aorangi Grounds, and after the warm-up, they played a game.
A ball tube was placed on both sides of the court and both the players had to hit them to emerge as the winner. The first to knock it out was Sabalenka and the losing team had to do a round of pushups.
Sinner too has never reached the Wimbledon final. In 2023, seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic knocked him out in the semifinals, while last year, the Italian was defeated in the quarterfinals by 2021 US Open champion Daniil Medvedev.
Sinner, like Sabalenka, lost the French Open final. He was up against Carlos Alcaraz, who made an incredible turnaround after saving three match points in the fourth set, winning it after five hours and 29 minutes.
While Sabalenka will be bidding to win her fourth title of the season at Wimbledon, Sinner will be searching for his second title. He has won just the Australian Open and after serving his three-month doping ban, the three-time Grand Slam champion made his comeback at the Italian Open, only to lose the final to Alcaraz, who he could face again if both of them reach the championship match of the grass-court Grand Slam event.
