An emotional Coco Gauff was relieved to have banished memories of her defeat in the 2022 Roland-Garros final, having beaten Aryna Sabalenka in an epic showpiece on Saturday.

Gauff went down in straight sets when she met Iga Swiatek in the 2022 final, with the Pole embarking on a three-year spell of dominance on the French clay.

She was unable to live with Sabalenka in the early stages of Sunday's final, either, with the world number one going 4-1 up in the first set and having three points to make it 5-1.

However, a remarkable comeback saw the 21-year-old force a tie-break, and though Sabalenka briefly regained her composure to take the opener, it was a different match from that point on.

Gauff went on a run of eight breaks in 10 attempts as Sabalenka continued to pick poor shots, with the Belarusian's 70 unforced errors throughout the match the most in the women's singles this year.

Gauff is the first player to win a women's singles final in the French capital after losing the first set since 2018, when Simona Halep fought back against Sloane Stephens.

Speaking at the post-match trophy presentation, Gauff said: "I was going through a lot of things when I lost this final three years ago, so it means a lot to be back and here and to win.

"Aryna, you are a fighter, you're the number one player in the world and I know today was a tough match, but hopefully we will get to play again in the future."

1 - Coco Gauff is the youngest player to win the Women’s Singles title at US Open and Roland Garros since Serena Williams 2002. Champion. #rolandgarros | @rolandgarros @WTA pic.twitter.com/H8Ystv6Jkx

— OptaAce (@OptaAce) June 7, 2025

Gauff is also the first player to win a women's singles grand slam final against the world number one after losing the first set since Venus Williams at Wimbledon in 2005 (versus Lindsay Davenport), and the first to do so at Roland-Garros since Steffi Graf in 1999 (against Martina Hingis).

She credited the fans on Court Philippe-Chatrier – who were overwhelmingly behind her – for giving her the strength to fight back.

"I want to thank my team. You are always pushing me. I know sometimes I'm not easy to work with, but thank you for everything you do. I appreciate you guys.

"I also want to thank my parents – from washing my clothes to keeping me grounded, you always believe in me. You guys are the reason I do this, and inspire me more than anything.

"I want to thank the crowd, too. You really helped me today. You were cheering so hard. I don't know what I do to deserve so much love from the French crowd, but merci beaucoup!

"I didn't think I could do it, but I'm going to quote Tyler, The Creator, who said, 'If I ever told you I had a doubt inside me, I must be lying.' I'll leave you with that."