Three years ago, Coco Gauff sat alone on her Roland Garros bench, a towel pulled over her face, tears soaking through after a straight-sets loss to Iga Swiatek in the 2022 French Open final. She was just 18. It was a moment that made even the most stoic tennis fans ache. That image of heartbreak has stuck with her. But so has the resolve. Fast forward to 2025, and Gauff is no longer the teenager learning on the fly. She’s now a two-time Grand Slam champion. So, how were her two victories different?
Her first major breakthrough came at home. At the 2023 US Open, she lit up Arthur Ashe Stadium, storming past Aryna Sabalenka to clinch her maiden Grand Slam title. The 19-year-old became the youngest American to win the US Open since Serena Williams in 1999 and only the third teenager to ever lift the trophy in New York. The crowd roared. Gauff cried again, but this time, it was joy.
And now, in Paris, it’s come full circle. The 21-year-old American flipped the script at Roland Garros, coming from a set down to defeat Sabalenka once again. She became the youngest American woman to win the French Open since 2002, the year Serena collected her first title at the French Open.
Coco Gauff wins the French Open French Open Tennis, Day Fourteen, Tennis, Roland Garros, Paris, France – 07 Jun 2025 EDITORIAL USE ONLY No use with unauthorised audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or live services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxHUNxGRExMLTxCYPxROUxBULxUAExKSAxCHNxDENxINDxITAxPORxESPxSWExTURxMEXxCOLxVENxPERxECUxBRAxARGxCHIxURUxPARxPANxONLY Copyright: xJavierxGarcia/Shutterstockx 15346223ax
So, how did those two wins feel different? Coco Gauff explained the contrast in a candid chat with USOpen.org. “It was very different,” she said. “US Open, I think I believed that I could, but part of me was just like, ‘let’s just see what’s going to happen,’ and it was more so relief when that match was over, relief that all the expectations were met. And then here I really truly did believe more that I could do it. I think the feelings right after match point for this one were pride, not necessarily for winning, but just proud of the work, proud of my team, proud of the people around me.”
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