Aryna Sabalenka apologizes to Coco Gauff for public comment after punishment
Berlin – Aryna Sabalenka said she had written to Coco Gauff to apologize for the “non-professional” comments she made after losing to her U.S. opponent in the French Open final.
The highest ranking Sabalenka said in a speech from Germany’s Eurosport that her speech was a mistake of losing to Gauff on 6-7 (5) this month, 6-2, 6-4 to Roland-Garros. Sabalenka raised the post-match press conference in Paris that the result was more due to her own mistake than Goff’s performance.
“That’s totally unprofessional,” Sabalenka said. “I made my mood better. I absolutely regret what I said back then. You know, we all make mistakes. I’m just a life alone. I’m all learning in life. I think we all lose control. But what I want to say is that I later wrote to Coco, and later not immediately – recently, but recently.”
Sabalenka hit 37 winners but ended the final with 70 unforced mistakes, while Gauff’s 30 were won.
She said she wrote to Goff to apologize and “make sure she knows she should definitely win the game, and I respect her.”
“I never intended to attack her,” Sabalanka added. “I was so excited at that press conference, not very smart. I don’t have to thank myself for what I did. I took a while to go back and think about it, open my eyes and understand. I realized I’m a lot. Why did I lose so many finals?”
Sabalenka, a three-time Grand Slam champion, also lost to Gauff in the 2023 U.S. Open final, and she also won the first set.
“I’ve been so excited all the time,” Sabalenka added. “So I learned a lot. The most important thing is, one thing: I’m an opponent who always has a lot of respect for me, whether I win or lose. There’s no such respect.
