When Coco Gauff was preparing for the First French Open final, at the age of 18, the American was overcome with nerves and had already written off her chances as she went out to court Philippe-Chatrier. It was therefore no surprise that Gauff was beaten 6-1, 6-3 by Iga Swatek in a one-sided last last three years ago.
The morning after, Gauff stepped out onto the Paris streets and reflected on the pressure she had put on herself. “At first I thought it would be the end of the world if I lost and the sun still rose the next day,” Gauff said.
Three years later, Gauff, now World No. 2, returns to his second French open final against the World No. 1 ARYNA Sabalenka. The 21-year-old does it as a Grand Slam champion after beating Sabalenka to win the 2023 US Open, but again as the sub-dog. While Sabalenka is also chasing her first Roland Garro’s title, the Belarusian Swiatek’s dominant winning row ended in the semi-finals to emphasize her status as the best player in the world.
To take Gauff with his word it will be key to have won three of the last four games against her since their open final. Gauff showed the top mental toughness of his semi-final victory over Lois Boisson and denied the adventure race of the French Joker sign and home crowd in a masterful 6-1 6-2 win over the world No. 361, who had backed back-to-back top-10 opponents.
Boisson’s loopy forhand and noise from the French fans had fried the mind from two of the best players in the world in Mirra Andreeva and Jessica Pegula. Even when Boisson pulled, a serving breach could have changed the momentum of the match, but Gauff opposed himself while deploying a mental trick used by Novak Djokovic. “When you sang her name, I said to myself my name!” She told the crowd.
Gauff was also better than Boisson in all areas, and the tactics that had got the 22-year-old French woman so far was used against her. “She played really well,” Boisson said. I don’t know how to say, but she played right and left and right. I just feel like I’m running everywhere on the field today. ”
Against Sabalenka’s power, Gauff will be the one who does the hunt, but the American is also the best mover in the game, and it was her elastic defense that turned the tide in their 2023 US Open final. When he had to play a lot of extra balls to finish points, Sabalenka began to give away many mistakes and is revealed from a setup.
Sabalenka is now another player, but with Gauff, which highlights the 27-year-old mentality as one of her three biggest strengths along with her huge ball strike and serving. Sabalenka’s mental transformation led to two Australian open titles and the United States Open in 2024 and was again evident in his semi -final victory over Swiatek. When Sabalenka was erratic and prone to outbreaks, Sabalenka controlled her temper after Swatek leveled the fight and was clearly superior as she ran away with a dominant last set.
Sabalenka completely surpassed Swatek in the largest demonstration yet of the improvements she has made to her game on the natural surfaces. While the key to her victory may still have been her aggressive return, Sabalenka has added variation to her attacking game. “[My] All my life I have been told that it is not my thing, and then I did not have any confidence, “said Sabalenka.” We have been able to develop my game so much. ”
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But for everything that Sabalenka has improved physically while adding spin and slices to her series of shots, her last against Gauff can come down to a pure battle between attack and defense, between first -time bullet and opposition. “I know the job has not been done yet,” said Sabalenka, who spoke as if she and Gauff were preparing for 12 rounds. “I’m ready to go out and I’m ready to fight, and I’m ready to do everything it will take to get the victory.”
World # 1 will be the favorite, but Gauff has been here before and can take confidence from the experience. “Regardless of the result,” she said, “the sun will still rise.”