MusaCoco Gauff is officially a two-time Grand Slam champion and now, a queen of clay. In a gutsy, electrifying performance at Roland Garros, the 21-year-old American battled from a set down to defeat world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka 6‑7(5), 6‑2, 6‑4 and claim the 2025 French Open title. Gauff, who already captured hearts with her 2023 US Open triumph, delivered once again on the sport’s biggest stage.
What began as a tense, wind whipped match turned into a statement of resilience. Gauff fell short in the opening set tiebreak but never blinked. As Sabalenka’s error count soared, Gauff steadied herself upping the tempo, sharpening her returns, and pouncing on opportunities with the intensity of a player on a mission.
The second set was hers in just 36 minutes. By the time the deciding set began, Gauff had found her full rhythm and the Parisian crowd was fully behind her. With athleticism that defied the red clay and shot selection that spoke of maturity beyond her years, she broke Sabalenka early and never looked back.
And when the final point dropped, Gauff collapsed in tears overcome with the emotion of a decade long journey that began as a 15-year-old phenomenon and now sees her standing tall as a champion on two surfaces.
“This means the world to me,” Gauff said, cradling the trophy with wide eyes and a wider smile. “To do it here in Paris… I don’t even have the words. I just kept fighting.”
Sabalenka, clearly emotional in defeat, offered a gracious embrace at the net and later apologized for what she called a “terrible final.” The Belarusian powerhouse struggled with 70 unforced errors under the windy conditions, unable to find her usual dominance.
But the day belonged to Gauff.
With this victory, she becomes the first American woman to lift the Coupe Suzanne-Lenglen since Serena Williams in 2015 and the youngest since Serena did it in 2002. She’s also now the only active woman to have won both junior and senior titles at Roland Garros.
At just 21, Coco Gauff has already conquered hard courts and now the red clay. The question is no longer whether she’s the future of women’s tennis. She is the present.
And with Wimbledon on the horizon, the Coco era is only just beginning.
Musa
Olaniyi Ayoola