Aryna Sabalenka Facing Backlash for Coco Gauff Message After French Open Loss

Women's tennis World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka caught the ire of several fans after sharing her take on her loss to Coco Gauff at the French Open final.

As the top-seeded player in the women's singles tournament, Sabalenka entered the title match against Gauff as the odds-on favorite. Besides, in their last meeting on clay court during the Madrid Open final last month, the Belarusian star took down the American youngster in straight sets, 6-3, 7-6(3).

However, in the finale of the clay-court Grand Slam, Sabalenka had an uncharacteristic showing. She committed 70 unforced errors, which doomed her as Gauff took the win, 6(5)-7, 6-2, 6-4.

Gauff definitely deserved credit, though. She made life hard for Sabalenka, who struggled to get past her defense. The now two-time Grand Slam winner also dominated the lob game, making 16 successful lob shots compared to Sabalenka's one.

In her post-match presser, Sabalenka admitted that it was the "worst tennis" she played over the last few months, adding that the "conditions were terrible" and that Gauff simply played better in such rough conditions.

The 28-year-old also admitted that she didn't handle herself well mentally, leading to her multiple mistakes.

What infuriated fans, though, was Sabalenka seemingly downplaying Gauff's performance when she said that "she won the match not because she played incredible, just because I made all of those mistakes."