Coco Gauff is no longer just a rising star, she’s a two-time Grand Slam champion. The 21-year-old American staged a gutsy comeback in the French Open final, toppling world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-4 in a pulsating battle. The showdown in Paris marked the first women’s final between the top two seeds at Roland Garros since Serena Williams dismantled Maria Sharapova in 2013. And fittingly, it was Gauff, who grew up idolizing Serena, who rose to the moment with striking composure and tactical precision. But that’s not where the similarity ends.
After narrowly dropping a tense first-set tiebreak, Coco Gauff hit reset. She tightened up her service games, stepped in on returns, and shifted the rhythm with a mix of heavy topspin and fearless shotmaking. The result? A storming turnaround to lift her first French Open trophy—and become the youngest American to do so since, yes, Serena Williams in 2002.
But the parallels don’t stop there. Just like Serena Williams, Coco Gauff burst onto the Grand Slam scene as a teenager at the US Open—Serena was 17 when she stunned Martina Hingis in 1999, while Gauff was 19 when she toppled Aryna Sabalenka in 2023. At 20, both added the WTA Finals to their growing résumés. Serena beat Lindsay Davenport, and Gauff beat Qinwen Zheng. And now, in Paris, destiny has brought them together again. Gauff has claimed her first French Open title at 21, the same age Serena was when she lifted the trophy in 2002 after beating her sister Venus Williams. This time, Coco Gauff had to take down the most dominant player of the time to get there, and she did it with grit, poise, and the echoes of her idol’s greatness.
Serena Williams:
– Won the US Open as a teenager
– Won the WTA Finals the year she turned 20
– Won Roland-Garros the year she turned 21
Coco Gauff:
– Won the US Open as a teenager
– Won the WTA Finals the year she turned 20
– Won Roland-Garros the year she turned 21
Destiny.
— Bastien Fachan (@BastienFachan) June 7, 2025
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