Coco Gauff broke a series of records when she took down world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka at the French Open to earn her second Grand Slam title.
With Saturday’s historic victory, the American star is now one of five women who have ever claimed multiple singles Grand Slam titles at age 21 or younger in the Open era, per Athlon Sports. She also became the first American woman since Serena Williams to win the Roland-Garros title. Williams achieved the feat in 2015.
Gauff, who played in the final of the Madrid Open, Italian Open and French Open in recent months, is also the youngest player to reach the title match in all three tournaments in the same year. With 25 wins at Roland-Garros, Gauff is the youngest player to reach that mark at that venue since Martina Hingis did it in 2000.
What is the nickname Coco Gauff earned after winning the French Open?
Gauff, who has proven herself in the biggest clay-court tournaments, is now dubbed as the “Queen of Clay,” according to many of her supporters. Still, some fans say world No. 5 Iga Swiatek is more deserving of the title because she has won four French Open titles since 2020.
How did Coco Gauff win against Aryna Sabalenka?
Gauff bounced back in a big way after she lost the first set to Sabalenka. The 21-year-old tightened her defense and counter with her remarkable lob shots to get back into the game. Gauff also took advantage of 70 unforced errors from her opponents as she came back to win the match.
“It was super tough when I walked on the court and felt the wind because we warmed up with the roof closed. I was, like, ‘this is going to be a tough day,’” Gauff said after the match, per Yahoo Sports. “I knew it was just going to be about willpower and mental. It really came down to the last few points, but overall I’m just really happy with the fight that I managed today. It wasn’t pretty, but it got the job done, and that’s all that matters.”