World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka’s Emotional Confession Following Disappointing Roland-Garros Final Defeat

While Coco Gauff was busy capturing selfies in celebration of her victory on the clay courts of Paris, her competitor, Aryna Sabalenka, sat on the other side of the umpire’s chair, overwhelmed with frustration and sorrow.

As the officials at Roland-Garros got ready for the trophy presentation, Sabalenka gazed into the distance, eventually using a towel to cover her face.

When the time came for her to address the crowd, Sabalenka hesitated for a moment, clearly on the verge of tears.

Her evaluation of her performance, once she picked up the microphone, was brutally honest.

“Honestly, this one hurts so much,” she expressed.

“To perform so poorly in a final is incredibly painful.”

Ranked at the top, Sabalenka initially achieved success in the match, taking the first set as her aggressive tactics paid off. However, once Gauff found her rhythm, Sabalenka’s mistakes became increasingly apparent, ultimately leading to her defeat in a clash between the world’s top two players, finishing 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-4.

Despite striking 37 winners, Sabalenka ended the match with a staggering 70 unforced errors – in contrast to Gauff’s 30 – and lost her serve nine times.

“I believe I was too emotional,” she reflected.

“I didn’t handle myself very well mentally, and that’s just how it is.

“I kept making unforced errors. I think she won the match not because she played outstandingly, but because I committed numerous mistakes — it appeared, from an outsider’s view, as if I was misplaying simple balls.”

Sabalenka’s disappointment was heightened due to the considerable efforts she had made to adapt her play style to the slow court surface over the years, especially after she ended Iga Swiatek’s 26-match unbeaten run at the French Open in the semi-finals.

“You face so many challenging opponents, including Olympic champion Iga, only to come out and play so poorly,” she reflected during her post-match interview.

“This was honestly the worst match I’ve played in quite some time.”

Sabalenka also expressed her frustrations regarding the weather conditions. The retractable roof on the centre court remained open for the final, which caused her visible irritation with the windy conditions disrupting play.

“The conditions were dreadful,” the three-time Grand Slam champion stated.

“Whenever she struck the ball, the wind would carry it unpredictably, and I found myself reacting late each time.”

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This marks the second major final that Sabalenka has lost to Gauff, following their encounter in the 2023 U.S. Open, where she also won the first set. Earlier in the year, Sabalenka had triumphed over Gauff in their most recent clay meeting in Madrid and felt confident in her ability to prevail against the American on the Grand Slam stage.

“It’s yet another challenging grand slam final against Coco,” acknowledged Sabalenka.

“Another disappointing performance from me against her in the final. I must take a step back, reassess, and learn from this experience because I cannot continue to enter Grand Slam finals against her and perform so poorly, emotionally giving away these wins.”