French Open: Aryna Sabalenka opens up on defeat against Coco Gauff

While Coco Gauff was taking selfies on Court Philippe-Chatrier to celebrate her triumph on the Parisian clay, her opponent on the other side of the umpire’s chair was filled with anger and sadness.

As Roland-Garros officials prepared the court for the trophy ceremony, Aryna Sabalenka sat with her gaze lost in the distance before she took a towel and covered her face. And when it finally came time to speak, Sabalenka was silent for a long moment, as if on the verge of tears.

The assessment of her own performance, when she finally took the microphone to address the Roland-Garros crowd, was ruthless.

“Honestly guys, this one hurts so much. To show such terrible tennis in the final does really hurt,” she said.

The top-ranked Sabalenka won the first set as her high-risk approach brought dividends initially. But once Gauff found her stride, the Belarusian’s errors became more and more frequent and she lost the match between the world’s two highest-ranked players 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-4. Sabalenka hit 37 winners, but finished the match with a staggering 70 unforced errors.

3
No. of Grand Slam finals Aryna Sabalenka has lost. She has appeared in six Slam finals overall, winning three

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