Aryna Sabalenka is explaining the controversial comments she made after Coco Gauff defeated her in the French Open women's final June 7.
The top-ranked tennis star, 27, faced an online backlash after she initially appeared to downplay the second-ranked Gauff’s 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-4 victory, which marked the first time an American has won a singles title at the French Open since Serena Williams did so in 2015.
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WATCH HERESabalenka released a statement June 8 clarifying her remarks about Gauff's triumph.
“Yesterday was a tough one. Coco handled the conditions much better than I did and fully deserved the win,” Sabalenka wrote on her Instagram story Sunday, June 8. “She was the better player yesterday, and I want to give her the credit she earned.”
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“You all know me … I’m always going to be honest and human in how I process these moments,” the Belarusian pro continued. “I made over 70 unforced errors, so I can’t pretend it was a great day for me.”
She concluded, “But both things can be true … I didn’t play my best, and Coco stepped up and played with poise and purpose. She earned that title. Respect. Time to rest, learn, and come back stronger.”
Sabalenka was blasted by online critics after she initially blamed her loss on her own fumbles while failing to acknowledge how well Gauff, 21, played.
Although she congratulated Gauff on her win during her on-court speech June 7, Sabalenka noted that there were “terrible conditions” and she played “terrible tennis.”
Then, the No. 1 player doubled down on her remarks while speaking to reporters later in a press conference. “(Coco) won the match not because she played incredible, just because I made all of those mistakes,” Sabalenka said.
Although she acknowledged at one point that Gauff was “moving really well” during the match, Sabalenka said that the match was a “really bad” one for her, calling it “the worst final” she'd ever played.
Sabalenka went on to tell reporters she believed that if Gauff had played against Polish tennis star Iga Świątek — who defeated Gauff in the 2022 French Open — she would have lost.
She added of Gauff, “Honestly, sometimes it felt like she was hitting the ball from the frame. Somehow magically the ball lands in the court ... It felt like a joke, honestly, like someone from above was standing there laughing, like, ‘Let’s see if you can handle this.’”
After Sabalenka shared her initial thoughts about her French Open loss, Gauff reacted to the comments during her press conference. The 2025 French Open champion told reporters she objected to her opponent's take about her losing to Świątek in a hypothetical match.
“I mean, I don’t agree with that,” Gauff said as she sat next to her French Open trophy. “I’m here sitting here (as the winner) and last time I played her — no shade to Iga or anything — but I played her and I won in straight sets. I don’t think that’s a fair thing to say, because anything can really happen.”
“The way Aryna was playing the last few weeks, she was the favorite to win,” Gauff continued. “So I think she was the best person that I could have played in the final. Her being No. 1 in the world — was the best person to play. So I think I got the hardest matchup just if you go off stats alone.”
Following Sabalenka's assessment of her performance, tennis fans called her out on social media for how she handled her defeat.
One X user said Sabalenka behaved like a “sore loser” and a “poor sport.”
Another tweeted that it was “the worst press conference of Aryna Sabalenka‘s career” and it was “distasteful” for “a world No. 1 to repeatedly discredit the efforts of Coco Gauff, particularly after a Grand Slam final.”
Even Bernice King, daughter of Martin Luther King Jr., weighed in on the situation.
In response to a snippet from Sabalenka's press conference, King tweeted, “There’s a way to have a winning mentality no matter the outcome of a competition. This ain’t it. Hopefully, she’ll course correct.”
Gauff seemed unbothered by the social media discourse as she celebrated her French Open win on Instagram.
“I worked so hard for this moment and for it to have happened is insane. thank you God and thank you everyone. this means the world…” she captioned a gallery of images from the event, in part, on June 7.
She added, "I‘m still in shock honestly can’t find the words but all I can say for now is just thank you and never give up on your dreams.”
This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:
