Coco Gauff battled from a set down to stun top seed Aryna Sabalenka 6-7(5) 6-2 6-4 in the French Open final, her maiden Roland Garros title and second Grand Slam crown.
The 21-year-old Gauff became the first American woman to capture the singles title since Serena Williams in 2015 and the youngest from the US to achieve the feat since her decorated compatriot in 2002.
Paris was guaranteed a new champion but the first clash between the top two women in the world rankings in a major final since the 2018 Australian Open initially failed to live up to its billing on a blustery Court Philippe Chatrier.
Competing in her third straight Grand Slam final but first on the sport’s slowest surface, Sabalenka broke to love in the third game with smart play at the net and mixed deft drop shots and raw power to lead 4-1 in the first set.
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Gauff broke back from 40-0 down after a shaky service game by Sabalenka and hung on to draw level after eight games.
What followed was a festival of mistakes from both players in challenging conditions before Gauff forced a tie-break with a neat backhand winner, only to squander a 4-1 advantage as Sabalenka roared back to take the opening set.
Gauff, the 2023 US Open winner, barely flinched and she dialled up the intensity in the second set by claiming four of the opening five games and levelled the match after her rival’s unforced error count climbed to 51.
The 2022 Paris runner-up stepped up another level in the deciding set to build a 3-1 lead before Sabalenka clawed her way back, but she composed herself just in time and wrapped up the win to spark wild celebrations among her fans.
Gauff was dumbstruck after her win, admitting she did not think she had what it takes to stop Sabalenka.
“I didn’t think honestly I could do it,” Gauff said between tears before paying tribute to her opponent.
“Every time we play it is a tough match for me, so congratulations. You remind me there is more to life than tennis,” Gauff said.
“I would like to thank you guys, the crowd helped me today,” she told the 15,000 crowd.
“You guys were cheering for me so hard and I don’t know what I did to deserve such support from the French crowd,” Gauff added, before dropping the lid of the Suzanne Lenglen Cup.
