As Coco Gauff steps onto the red clay of Roland Garros in 2025, the weight of the moment is unmistakable. This final isn’t just another match—after all, it’s been nearly a year and a half since she last played on this stage. The air around Court Philippe-Chatrier buzzes with anticipation, the echoes of Rafael Nadal’s farewell still fresh in memory. While the draw has narrowed dramatically, defending champion Iga Swiatek shocked out early, and many contenders have fallen—Gauff stands firm, having dismantled French wildcard Loïs Boisson 6-1, 6-2 in a swift 69-minute match under the stadium roof. The hometown crowd had hoped for an upset, but it’s Gauff who now carries the hopes of a nation and the pressure of her own soaring ambitions. But her journey here has been anything but smooth.

Clay courts once seemed an obstacle, but back-to-back finals in Madrid and Rome, plus the 2024 WTA Finals trophy in her hands, have reshaped her mindset. Yet even with those recent successes, she’s not immune to the inner voice pushing her relentlessly. “I think I put too much pressure on winning a Slam. I think I was feeling like I have to do it,” Gauff admitted recently. She knows the final against Aryna Sabalenka, world No. 1 and her long-time rival with whom she shares a 5-5 head-to-head, is more than a match, it’s a test of her grit and endurance, too.

But amid this swirl of expectation and intensity, Gauff revealed a quietly powerful truth that cuts through it all. After beating Loïs Boisson in their semi-final on Thursday, she was asked how she kept herself grounded through all the big moments. She said something unexpected: outside the glare of the spotlight, outside the bubble of tennis obsession, “no one cared.” Speaking at her post-match press conference, Coco Gauff shared a deeply grounded and honest reflection on what it truly means to play in a GS final. 

“I think just realizing how minuscule it is, like everybody’s dealing with way bigger things in life than losing a final,” she added. “And also thinking, realizing that I don’t know how big the draw is, but many players wanted to be in this position. So I’m sure there’s hundreds of players that would kill to win or lose a final, so just knowing that making me realize how lucky and you know privileged I am to be in this position,”  She also admitted that her younger self might have viewed losing a final as catastrophic, but not anymore. 

“And you know, at first I thought it would be the end of the world if I lost, and you know the sun still rose the next day. So, knowing regardless of the result the sun will still rise, and especially being in a city like Paris, I was walking around the next day, and no one knew that I lost, and no one cared. Some people know who I am, but you know, not a lot, not everyone. So just realizing that you know how big the moment seems in our lives is not as big in the grand scheme of scheme of things,” she added.

But beyond the reflection lies high stakes, though. This final is not just about a trophy, it’s about breaking the deadlock in a gripping rivalry. Gauff and Sabalenka are tied 5-5 in their H2H, and Saturday’s match offers a chance to tilt that scale.

It’s also the first time since 2018 that the world’s top two women will meet in a Slam final. 

That year, Wozniacki beat Halep. In France, this hasn’t happened since 2013, when Serena Williams took down Maria Sharapova. And now, Gauff is ready to write her chapter.

Coco Gauff reflects on the turning point of her US Open final

Coco Gauff’s unforgettable comeback in the 2023 US Open final remains one of the most iconic moments of her career so far. After dropping the first set 2-6 against Aryna Sabalenka, the American teenager flipped the script, roaring back to take the next two sets 6-3, 6-2 inside the electric atmosphere of the iconic Arthur Ashe Stadium. At just 19, Gauff then became the 1st American teenager since Serena Williams in 1999 to win the US Open, a milestone that elevated her into tennis stardom.

As Gauff now prepares to face Sabalenka once again in the 2025 Roland Garros final, she recently took a reflective pause. Speaking at her latest post-match press conference following her SF win, Coco looked back on that defining moment in New York.

“Honestly, it was one of those matches that felt like an out of body experience, like I don’t remember much, to be honest,” Gauff said as she revisited that night.

“I do remember, like one point, I think I hit like a back and cross passing shot, and I felt like that was like the momentum switch of the match. But I just remember running a lot, and yeah, just fighting for every point. I honestly, I wasn’t that nervous going into that final, just I don’t know,” she added.

With emotions, history, and clay court glory on the line, who will emerge as the queen of clay in Paris tomorrow? Share your opinions below!