Coco Gauff secured her second consecutive final victory over world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, winning 2–1 in sets to triumph in Paris on Saturday. The young American prevailed 6–7(5), 6–2, 6–4 in a match that lasted 2 hours and 38 minutes and was played in blustery conditions, which seemed to affect Sabalenka more significantly. The Belarusian committed 70 unforced errors, compared to Gauff’s 30.

The rivalry between the two dates back to 2023, when the 21-year-old American won the US Open on home soil — the first American woman to do so since Serena Williams a decade earlier. The opening set lasted around an hour and 20 minutes. Sabalenka took a commanding 4–1 lead with two breaks of serve, and the outcome appeared all but settled. But after missing three game points, Gauff mounted a comeback, only to lose the set in a tiebreak.

In the second set, Gauff broke early and then again in the fifth game. Sabalenka managed to recover one of the breaks, but the world No. 2 quickly restored her two-break advantage and closed out the set 6–2.

In the decider, Gauff maintained control. After exchanging early breaks, she asserted her dominance to seal a memorable victory in the French capital. Prior to the match, Sabalenka topped the WTA rankings with 10,683 points, while Gauff trailed with 6,863.

The American had previously reached the Roland Garros final in 2022, when she was defeated by Iga Świątek. In 2024, she once again made it to the semifinals, only to be stopped by the Polish star. |BGNES