'I don't think it's fair to say that': Coco Gauff defends her Roland Garros title win against Sabalenka's post-match remarks.

Coco Gauff responded to Aryna Sabalenka's comments in her French Open press conference, where Sabalenka claimed that if Iga Swiatek had beaten her in the semifinals, she would have then defeated Gauff in the final and won the title.

The world No. 1 was up a set but couldn't seal the victory against a great comeback from Gauff, who closed out the win 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-4, emulating her first major title back in the 2023 US Open, where she also came from a set down against Sabalenka.

The three-time Grand Slam champion appeared deeply disappointed in her press conference, even asserting that it was "the worst tennis" she had played in a final in her career. To date, she has played 38 finals, winning 20 titles.

However, the comments did not sit well with Gauff, who found it unfortunate that Sabalenka was taking credit away from what she considered a victory where she had to perform at her best level, and not merely due to a poor performance from Sabalenka. The Belarusian had stated that if Swiatek reached the final, she surely would have beaten Gauff.

"I don't agree. Here I am! The last time I played her, no disrespect to Iga, I won in three sets. I don't think it's fair to say that, because anything can happen. Honestly, the way Aryna has played in the last few weeks, she was the favorite to win. She was the best person I could have played in the final, because she is the world No. 1. She was the best opponent. I think I played the most difficult match, given the statistics. Since Iga is the champion here, it would have been a tough match anyway."

"No matter who I played, I had high hopes of winning and I had that conviction. If someone had asked me who I wanted to play, I would have preferred to face Iga because Aryna played very well, but Iga is also a tough opponent. Neither of them would have been a better opponent, but things happened as they happened and that's why I'm here today."