Sabalenka: Swiatek Would Have Beaten Gauff in French Open Final

Originally posted on Serve on SI | By Pat Benson | Last updated Jun 7, 2025 2:04 PM ET

Giving speeches and participating in press conferences after losing in a Grand Slam final is very difficult — especially when speaking in your second language.

However, that has never stopped Aryna Sabalenka from giving eye-opening quotes before and did not stop her today. After losing to Coco Gauff in the French Open final, Sabalenka opened up when speaking to the media.

During her post-match press conference, Sabalenka kept reiterating that it was her worst match in months and her level of execution was unacceptable for a finals performance.

However, Sabalenka's most attention-grabbing quote came at the very end of her presser. Sabalenka said she believed that had Iga Swiatek beat her in the semifinal, Swiatek would have gone on to beat Gauff in today's final.

"It hurts. Especially when you've been playing really great tennis during the whole week. You've been playing against a lot of tough opponents, Olympic champion [Qinwen Zheng]. Iga. And then you go out and play really bad. I don't know.

"I think if Iga would win at me the other day, I think she would go out today, and she would get the win. It's just... (laughs). It just hurts, honestly."

Shortly after Sabalenka's comments made their way onto social media, tennis fans found the remarks to be disrespectful to Gauff. Others appreciate the candor from the three-time Grand Slam champion.

After today, Sabalenka falls to 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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