Sabalenka Apologizes to Gauff Over Controversial French Open Comments

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Aryna Sabalenka confirmed that she sent a heartfelt apology letter to Coco Gauff following her controversial comments after her grand finals loss in the 2025 French Open Grand Slam tournament.

“I’m just a human being who’s still learning in life. I think we all have those days when we lose control. The difference with me is the world is watching,” said Sabalenka.

Sabalenka, who lost via a reverse sweep against Gauff in the finale- 7.6, 2.6, 4.6- said during the event’s post-match press conference that: “She won the match, not because she played incredible, just because I made all those mistakes”.

Hours after the press conference, Sabalenka quickly went viral on social media and received a handful of harsh comments from the avid tennis fans.

Sabalenka made her point after committing a total of 70 unforced errors in the championship match, her most in the Grand Slam calendar this year.

After escaping Gauff in the opening set to take a momentum-boosting 1-0 lead, the Belarusian ace went flat and crashed out in the remaining two sets, ending her campaign with another silver trophy.

Gauff officially dropped the hammer after scoring her second straight break point in the second set to reach set point, and concluded the frame with a series of won exchanges in two long rallies to level the championship match at 1-1.

From that point, after winning the second set with a wide disparity, the 21-year-old stalwart took advantage of Sabalenka’s error-plagued outing and stepped on the gas pedal in the third.

Gauff still kicked off the winning set with a conservative approach, but later on turned on the jets after winning eight out of the 12 long rally exchanges.

In an interview with Eurosport Germany, Sabalenka said that she already sent a letter to Gauff, labeling all the remarks she said as “unprofessional”.

“That was just completely unprofessional of me. I let my emotions get the better of me. I absolutely regret what I said back then,” Sabalenka said.