Just a year ago, the top seed Aryna Sabalenka, sidelined by a shoulder injury, watched Wimbledon slip by. Now, just 3 weeks back, she found herself at the center of a storm after her post-Roland Garros remarks about Coco Gauff, saying she lost the final more than Gauff won it, sparked backlash. A full circle of frustration, missteps, and reflection. But now, with her 1st Wimbledon win since 2023 in the bag, Sabalenka seems to be rewriting the script. Amid a quiet patch-up with Coco at the All England Club before the tournament started, she has now revealed the apology she made to Gauff, proof that time, and grace, can heal!
Right after a commanding 6-1, 7-5 victory over Canadian qualifier Carson Branstine on No. 1 Court at the All England Club, the top seed Aryna Sabalenka stood tall, both in form and in spirit. Speaking to Martina Navratilova and Steve Weissman at the Tennis Channel desk, she openly addressed her episode with Coco Gauff, calling it a “distant memory” and confirming that both players had already moved past it in words and actions before Wimbledon even began.
“It’s something I’m definitely not proud of, but we’re learning, right?” Sabalenka admitted, pulling no punches about her mistake. With a calm strength, she revealed how much Coco’s acceptance of her apology meant: “I lost control over my emotions and I was so upset with myself that I was just completely lost. I’m really happy that she was like, ‘Yeah, girl, I got it; it’s OK.’ It was such a relief [in my heart].”
Sabalenka went deeper, pulling back the emotional curtain. “It was really hard in that moment when I lost,” she said, reflecting on the raw pain of letting the Roland Garros final slip away. “For some reason I thought that I won the first set, and I thought, ‘OK, it’s coming.’ But it slipped away, and then after a little while …”
250630 — LONDON, June 30, 2025 — Aryna Sabalenka reacts during the women s singles first round match between Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus and Carson Branstine of Canada at Wimbledon tennis Championship in London, Britain, June 30, 2025. SPBRITAIN-LONDON-TENNIS-WIMBLEDON-WOMEN S SINGLES LixYing PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxCHN
But growth followed grief later. “I’m glad it happened to me what happened, because I had the opportunity to sit back and look at everything as a bigger picture,” she explained. “I realized she was a better player, so there’s nothing to recover from. Flip the page and move on to the next one. I’m here with a new setup in my head, recharged and ready to go.”
(The story is emerging…)
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