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Coco Gauff is just getting started after second major title
Coco Gauff celebrates after beating Aryna Sabalenka and winning the women's singles at Roland Garros on June 07, 2025 in Paris, France. Sipa Press

Coco Gauff is just getting started after second major title

Coco Gauff has already accomplished plenty, yet chances are she's just getting started.

Gauff, 21, won her second career major and first French Open on Saturday, defeating No. 1 seed Aryna Sabalenka, 6-7, 6-2, 6-4.

Gauff became the first American since Serena Williams (2015) to win the Suzanne-Lenglen Cup and also the youngest to win a U.S. Open and French Open since Williams (2002).

The world's No. 2-ranked player on the WTA Tour has more than lived up to her lofty expectations after bursting onto the scene as an amateur at 2019 Wimbledon, when she reached the fourth round at 15 years old.

Gauff's 2025 French Open breakthrough could be the start of a prolonged stretch of dominance at Roland-Garros.

Including this year's French Open, Gauff is 75-28 on clay and playing the best tennis of her career on the surface. She reached three finals on clay this season, including April's Madrid Open and May's Rome Open.

Gauff improved to 28-6 at Roland Garros, and her .824 win percentage at the year's second tennis major is her highest at a grand slam event.

The sport recently saw Iga Swiatek dominate the tournament, winning four French Opens from 2020-24, including three in a row before losing to Sabalenka in this year's semifinals.

She'll be a factor in future seasons, but Gauff has established herself as another clay court technician and could go on a similar run in future years.

Gauff's outstanding defense was on display against Sabalenka when she broke two of the world No. 1's serves without dropping a point.

Per InfoSys, Gauff won 53% of her receiving points (61-of-116), including 52% (36-of-69) on Sabalenka's first serve.

Gauff, one of the best return players regardless of surface, takes advantage of clay being tennis' slowest playing surface by being able to reach more balls and get them over the net.

Here's Gauff in the first set when she forced a tiebreak after running the baseline following multiple big Sabalenka swings. 

Gauff is already arguably the best women's tennis player and has likely not even reached her peak. That's a scary thought for the rest of the tour. Gauff's French Open win could be a sign of what's to come.

Eric Smithling

Eric Smithling is a writer based in New Orleans, LA, whose byline also appears on Athlon Sports. He has been with Yardbarker since September 2022, primarily covering the NFL and college football, but also the NBA, WNBA, men’s and women’s college basketball, NHL, tennis and golf. He holds a film studies degree from the University of New Orleans

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