Watch: Coco Gauff shows off smaller replica of Roland Garros title awarded to the American after final triumph

American tennis prodigy Coco Gauff won the second Grand Slam title of her career on Saturday, defeating Aryna Sabalenka in a close final. Although Gauff celebrated with the larger trophy after her victory, she was unable to take the actual title home, and revealed to fans the smaller version given to her instead.

The Atlanta native rallied from a set down to score a 6-7(5) 6-2 6-4 victory over the big-hitting Belarusian, who was unable to overpower the American with her groundstrokes and huge serves. Gauff's consistency and defense paid off, as she neutralized most shots coming off Sabalenka's racket, frustrating the World No.1 before emerging victorious after a grueling two hours and 38 minutes.

Gauff shows fans actual trophy she gets to take home

The final on Saturday was Gauff's second attempt at winning the Roland Garros title, after reaching the final in 2022. A younger Gauff fell to Polish star Iga Swiatek in straight sets, although the American would go on to win her maiden Grand Slam title at the US Open the following year.

After her victory over Sabalenka at this year's French Open, Gauff was handed the Suzanne-Lenglen Cup, which is awarded to the women's singles champions. Although fans assumed she would get to keep the trophy, Gauff revealed in a TikTok video that the tournament organizers keep the larger trophy and give each winner a smaller replica to take home.

"I just won a French Open for Rolland Garros, and this is the trophy that you guys see, the one that we take pictures with, do press, and all that," said Gauff as she also displayed a photo of the actual trophy. "But actually, we don't get to take this home. This stays with the tournament, and I'm going to show you guys the one we take home. It's a lot smaller.
"So this is the one we take home. It's a mini replica of the trophy. And yeah, I guess to compare it, it's really small... But, you know, it's the memories that matter the most. It is very pretty, and it is like a miniature version of the real trophy."

Gauff now leads Sabalenka 6-5 in career meetings, and 2-0 in Grand Slam finals. The duo last faced each other in a Grand Slam final at the 2023 US Open, where Gauff prevailed in front of a home crowd to win her first Grand Slam title. Furthermore, Gauff's victory on Saturday saw her avenge her loss to Sabalenka, as the World No.1 won their most recent meeting in the final of the Madrid Open.