On 7th June 2025, Coco Gauff was celebrated for becoming the first American to win the Roland Garros title since Serena Williams (in 2015). Her epic comeback after being one set down on the terre battue not only secured her second major title, but it was more like a sigh of relief after her narrow miss in 2022 (against Iga Swiatek). However, on the other side, the picture was a bit gloomy. Aryna Sabalenka not only gifted away the chance to secure her fourth major title for the second time this year (after the 2025 AO) but also stirred a bit of controversy with her post-match reactions. After committing 70 unforced errors (the highest in any women’s singles main draw at the 2025 French Open), with 39 coming off her backhand, Sabalenka said, “It was honestly the worst tennis I’ve played in I don’t know how many months.” However, that wasn’t all! She was also accused of taking away the spotlight from Gauff. Surprisingly, almost a week after that incident, the Belarusian was yet again spotted clarifying a few things about that controversial incident. What did she say this time, though?

After losing her match to Coco Gauff at the Roland Garros final, Aryna Sabalenka claimed, “I think she won the match not because she played incredible, but because I made all those mistakes.” She had defeated the 2024 champion, Iga Swiatek, by 7-6(1),4-6,6-0. But according to Sabalenka, “If Iga (Swiatek) had beaten me the other day (in semis), I think she would come out today and gotten the win (in final). It just hurts.” Her comments received a severe backlash in the tennis world.

Following that, she had to come up with clarification a day later by admitting that Coco Gauff handled the conditions much better than she did in the final, and in her statement, she also admitted that Gauff “fully deserved to win.” Now, recently, just before starting her campaign at the Grass Court Championships in Berlin, Aryna Sabalenka was seen expressing her regret surrounding those controversial statements. She also revealed what she had written to Gauff in apology. She claimed that she wanted to make sure that Coco Gauff knew that she “absolutely deserved” to win the tournament and that she respected her. 

“I was super emotional and not very smart at that press conference. It took me a while to revisit it, to approach it with open eyes, and to understand. I realized a lot about myself. Why did I lose so many finals? I kept getting so emotional. So I learned a lot. Above all, one thing: I’m the one who always treats my opponents with great respect - whether I win or lose. Without that respect, I wouldn’t be where I am today. So it was a tough but very instructive lesson for me,” said Sabalenka in her latest statement.

But what was Gauff’s initial reaction after seeing these bizarre comments from the Belarusian after the match? In a previous interview with ‘Good Morning America,‘ Coco Gauff revealed that she was a bit “surprised” about the whole situation. However, she stated, “I’m gonna give her the benefit of the doubt. I’m sure it was an emotional day, emotional match.“

Fans weren’t too pleased with Aryna Sabalenka’s comments after the final. But what do the superstars in the tennis world have to say about this incident?

Madison Keys reacts to Aryna Sabalenka’s controversial post-match comments at the 2025 French Open

The moment Aryna Sabalenka’s comment went viral, several tennis stars came up to share their reactions on the same. For example, Serena Williams’ ex-coach was among the first ones to react to this incident. She said, “I could not believe those words came out of her mouth. You could tell immediately, she started to cry the moment she got on mic and I was like, my heart broke for her. The crowd was ready to put their arms around her and cheer her, and give her a five-minute standing ovation like they’ve done so many times through the years with so many great champions. Those words came out of her mouth, and the crowd went, gave silent...“

Former US Open finalist, Greg Rusedski, said Aryna Sabalenka should’ve given more credit to Coco Gauff. Andy Roddick also shared his verdict on the same by admitting that he didn’t really like what Sabalenka said in her post-match presser.

However, others like Daria Saville said that she thinks Aryna Sabalenka didn’t have that much time to process after losing the final. “I think she was emotional on court, she was emotional post-match, and she just spoke about how she was feeling.“ Speaking on a similar line, tennis legend Jimmy Connors suggested that Grand Slams need to come up with a change. He believes that players should be given a bit longer to gather their thoughts before making their speech on-court.

What does Madison Keys have to say on this? While reacting to this controversy, Keys said that she believes that Coco Gauff will not “care” much about these comments, especially when she has already tasted her title triumph. What are your thoughts on these controversial comments, which were previously made by Aryna Sabalenka, though?