“I’ve always been really good with Coco,” Sabalenka said.
“I didn’t really want to offend her. I was just completely upset with myself, and emotions got over me. I just completely lost it.
“I did what I did. I get what I deserve, I believe. It was a tough time for me. The lesson is learned.
“This time the emotions took over me. In the finals or semi-finals, sometimes I can get over-emotional. I would like to improve that.
“I would like to stay to the same mentality I have during the tournament, because I believe I get over-emotional at the last stages of the tournaments because I have this desire of winning.”
Sabalenka is a long way clear of the field in the WTA rankings, but she has lost four of her past six finals. She has not yet won Wimbledon and starts this year against Canadian qualifier Carson Branstine.
“Honestly, I’m kind of glad what happened to me at Paris, because I was able to learn a lot,” said Sabalenka. “I was able to sit back and be open to myself, not just to ignore some things. I really hope it will never happen again.”
She said she would “love to face” Gauff in the Wimbledon final. They are the number one and two seeds so cannot meet until then. Gauff holds a 6-5 advantage in their career head-to-head record.
“If she’s going to be there, I’m happy because I want to get the revenge,” Sabalenka added.
