The emotions haven’t sunk in yet. After giving it her all, Aryna Sabalenka fell at the final hurdle, losing against Coco Gauff in the French Open final yesterday. With this, her wait for the elusive Roland Garros trophy continues as Gauff went on to win her maiden French Open title. Although Sabalenka began the match with a bang and won the opening set, she failed to carry on the momentum and gave Gauff a chance for a comeback. After the match, she made some questionable remarks about her loss against Gauff but made amends by making a heartfelt revelation about the American sensation.

Soon after the match, Sabalenka blamed her loss on the conditions during the final and didn’t credit Gauff enough for her win. Additionally, she also said that Iga Swiatek would have defeated Gauff in the final had she reached that stage. While Sabalenka was called out for these comments, she cleared the air by taking to her official Instagram handle today.

Sharing a note via an Instagram story, Sabalenka wrote, “Yesterday was a tough one. Coco handled the conditions much better than I did and fully deserved the win. She was the better player yesterday, and I want to give her the credit she earned. You all know me… I’m always going to be honest and human in how I process these moments. I made over 70 unforced errors, so I can’t pretend it was a great day for me.”

Further, she went on to add, “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.”

Interestingly, Sabalenka had defeated Swiatek in the semifinal to set up a clash against Gauff. Back in 2022, when Gauff reached her maiden French Open final, she lost out to Swiatek in the summit clash. Thus, Sabalenka felt that Swiatek could have had a better chance against Gauff yesterday.

Meanwhile, Gauff also responded to Sabalenka’s remarks about Swiatek having a better chance against her. The American sensation hit back at Sabalenka with strong words as she disagreed with her.

Coco Gauff breaks her silence on Aryna Sabalenka’s post-match thoughts

During the Madrid Open last month, Gauff defeated Swiatek in the semifinal of that tournament. It was a complete domination from the American sensation, defeating Swiatek in straight sets 6-1, 6-1. Even as Gauff prevailed over the Pole recently, Sabalenka thought that Swiatek could have defeated Gauff yesterday. Thus, the American sensation disagreed with Sabalenka and responded with a strong statement.

She said, “I mean, I don’t agree with that. I’m here sitting here [as the champion]. No shade to Iga or anything, but last time I played her, 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. 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.”

Nonetheless, Sabalenka has cleared the air by hailing Gauff’s efforts today. While the Belarusian star has vowed to make a strong comeback, Gauff can soak in the sweet memories of her maiden French Open triumph.