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French Open: Gauff stages stunning comeback to earn maiden Roland-Garros title

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Clock Icon5 hoursTennis

Coco Gauff claimed her maiden French Open title with a stunning comeback victory over Aryna Sabalenka in Saturday's final.

The world number two had to dig deep to get over the line but prevailed 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 6-4 in two hours and 40 minutes on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

It was the first meeting between the world number one and two in the women's singles at Roland-Garros since 2013, and the pair put on a show in a final to remember.

Gauff initially looked off the pace, but after rattling Sabalenka by forcing a tie-break in the first set, she was in total control, storming to an emotional victory.

Gauff struggled to deal with Sabalenka's power early on as the world number one set the tone with an early double break.

In fact, Sabalenka looked to be cruising as she stormed to a 4-1, 40-0 lead in the sixth game, but as her composure slipped, Gauff fought her way back in, earning her first break.

It was the first of four in a row as the American drew level at 6-6, with the momentum swinging in her favour when she clawed back to 5-5 in a mammoth game. Sabalenka failed to convert two set points and had to defend valiantly against four break points, but she fell short when Gauff forced a fifth.

Gauff carried that momentum into the tie-break as unforced errors continued to creep into Sabalenka's game, but the Belarusian dug in, winning the last four points to take the lead.

From there, however, it was all Gauff, who was a picture of composure as she earned another break at the start of the second set.

She did not look back, with Sabalenka twice failing to earn a point on her own serve, which helped Gauff to a 5-2 lead, allowing her to serve out the second set and force a decider.

Sabalenka's frustration continued to grow as she started to force the issue, attempting shots that were not on, and another early break put Gauff in the driving seat once again.

The 21-year-old let the first championship point slip out of her grasp as Sabalenka clawed back to deuce on the American's serve at 5-4.

Sabalenka even had the chance to level the score at 5-5 in what could have been a match-changing moment.

However, she wasted her advantage with another needless attempt to force the issue, then found the net on the next point to hand the advantage to Gauff, who dropped to the floor in celebration as one more unforced error sealed her victory.

Coco takes the crown

Gauff showed incredible resilience to force her way back into the match. Even when it appeared to the crowd, and even Sabalenka, that Gauff was out of it, she proved them wrong.

She suffered heartbreak in the 2022 final at Roland-Garros, being swept aside by Iga Swiatek, who was kickstarting her three-year period of clay-court dominance, but Saturday's outcome was the polar opposite.

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 triumphed against Sloane Stephens.

And having also won the US Open in 2023, she is now the youngest player to win major titles on multiple surfaces since Maria Sharapova did so at Wimbledon 2004 and the 2006 US Open, with that second title coming as a 19-year-old.

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 at Roland-Garros since Steffi Graf in 1999 (against Martina Hingis).

This achievement also sees Gauff become the youngest player to win the women's singles title at the US Open and Roland-Garros since Serena Williams in 2002.

Gauff may have lost to Sabalenka in the Madrid Open final earlier this year, but she has now gotten the better of the Belarusian in two grand slam showpieces.

She is the first player to defeat the same opponent to secure their first two women's singles grand slam titles since Amelie Mauresmo (against Justine Henin), having also beaten Sabalenka in three sets to claim her US Open title two years ago.

Sabalenka's grand slam heartbreak

Sabalenka looked to be the slight favourite for this final after dethroning Swiatek in the semi-finals, but despite her stellar record in 2025, she fell short at the final grand slam hurdle once more.

She was playing in her sixth grand slam final this decade, more than any other player, and she had won three of the previous five, all on hard courts.

It was also her third consecutive major final, and though she won the first of those – at last year's US Open – she has since failed to get over the line, also losing to Madison Keys in this year's Australian Open final.

It was unforced errors that ultimately cost Sabalenka.

She made 70 overall in the match – the highest tally in the women's singles at Roland-Garros this year – with many of those coming at key moments, including three in a row right at the end of the match to give Gauff the win.

She still boasts the best record on the WTA Tour this year at 40-7, with this her seventh final, but that will come as little consolation after a frustrating end to her first French Open showpiece.