Aryna Sabalenka says she has written to Coco Gauff to apologise for the “unprofessional” comments she made after her loss to the American in the final of the French Open.
Speaking to Eurosport Germany, Sabalenka said her remarks after her defeat by Gauff at Roland Garros this month were a mistake. In her post-match press conference in Paris, Sabalenka had suggested that the result was more due to her own errors than to Gauff’s performance.
“I think she won the match not because she played incredible,” Sabalenka said at the time. “Just because I made all of those mistakes, if you look from the outside, from kind of easy balls.”
However, Sabalenka now says she regrets those remarks. “That was just completely unprofessional of me,” Sabalenka told Eurosport Germany. “I let my emotions get the better of me. I absolutely regret what I said back then. You know, we all make mistakes. I’m just a human being who’s still learning in life. I think we all have those days when we lose control. But what I also want to say is that I wrote to Coco afterward – not immediately, but recently.”
Sabalenka hit 37 winners but finished the final with 70 unforced errors. Gauff had 30 winners and 30 unforced errors. The Belarusian, the world No 1, said she wrote to Gauff to apologise and “make sure she knew she absolutely deserved to win the tournament and that I respect her”.
“I never intended to attack her,” Sabalanka added. “I was super-emotional and not very smart at that press conference. I’m not necessarily grateful for what I did. It took me a while to go back and think about it, to approach it with open eyes, and to understand. I realised a lot about myself. Why did I lose so many finals?”
Sabalenka, a three-time major champion, also lost to Gauff in the 2023 US Open final, where she also won the first set. “I kept getting so emotional,” Sabalenka said. “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 valuable lesson for me.”
