Aryna Sabalenka Clarifies Comments About Coco Gauff

Originally posted on Serve on SI | By Pat Benson | Last updated Jun 8, 2025 2:19 PM ET

Saturday was one of the worst days of Aryna Sabalenka's playing career. Not only did she lose to Coco Gauff in the French Open final, but she accidentally stepped into controversy during her post-match press conference.

Throughout her ten-minute media availability, Sabalenka reiterated how poorly she played while dismissing Gauff's strong play.

Even worse, Sabalenka said Iga Swiatek would have beaten Gauff in the final yesterday. It was received as disrespectful to the Roland Garros champion.

"(Coco) won the match not because she played incredible, just because I made all of those mistakes."

-Aryna Sabalenka on struggling with the conditions and how she handled herself mentally pic.twitter.com/IQB6iS1wM9
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 7, 2025

Gauff responded to Sabalenka's remarks while tennis fans and media piled on the top-ranked player for her lack of sportsmanship.

It took less than 24 hours for Sabalenka to issue a statement on her Instagram story clarifying her remarks from yesterday,

"Yesterday was a tough one. Coco handled the conditions much better than I did and fully deserved the win," wrote Sabalenka.

Aryna Sabalenka releases a statement saying she wants to give Coco Gauff the credit she deserves:

“I made over 70 unforced errors, so I can't pretend it was a great day for me.
But both things can be true... I didn't play my best, and Coco stepped up and played with poise and… pic.twitter.com/Ruc3opdvpd
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) June 8, 2025

"She was the better player yesterday, and I want to give her the credit she earned. You all know me… I'm always going to be honest and human in how I process these moments. I made over 70 unforced errors, so I can't pretend it was a great day for me."

"But both things can be true… I didn't play my best, and Coco stepped up and played with poise and purpose. She earned that title. Respect. Time to rest, learn, and come back stronger," concluded Sabalenka.

Sabalenka is now 39-6 on the season with three singles titles. Sabalenka said she will take a few days off before preparing for grass court season.

This article first appeared on Serve on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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