9 minutes into her information convention after her first main win, Coco Gauff was requested about her targets within the sport.
She did not hesitate, and even take a pause to breathe earlier than responding.
“I wish to be the best,” she stated with none emotion in her voice. “My dad instructed me that I may do that after I was 8. Clearly you by no means consider it. I am nonetheless, like, not 100% assured. However, like, it’s important to simply say issues. You by no means know what occurs.”
Gauff, then simply 15, had simply defeated considered one of her childhood heroes in seven-time main champion Venus Williams on Centre Court docket at Wimbledon. A 12 months faraway from her head-turning junior title on the French Open and simply months after recording her first win on the WTA Tour, Gauff had acquired a wild card into Wimbledon’s qualifying draw. Whereas to the informal fan she was a digital unknown, tennis insiders had been buzzing about her for a while.
However after her win over Williams, everybody knew who she was. “Cocomania,” because it was dubbed on the time, was born, and the fervor and intrigue elevated with each match she received. By the top of her magical fourth-round run on the All England Membership, everybody appeared to consider simply how nice she may change into.
Transitioning from a 15-year-old with little stress to an in a single day celebrity anticipated to win each match was not simple. Whereas she made regular progress and reached the 2022 French Open ultimate, it might take Gauff 4 years to assert her first main title on the US Open in 2023. 5 extra Slam tournaments then got here and went with out one other ultimate look.
It was clear she was nice, as evidenced by her 2024 WTA Finals victory and back-to-back ultimate appearances within the 1000-level clay occasions main into the French Open, however she nonetheless had a solution to go in an effort to at some point attain her aim of turning into the best.
However she bought nearer in Paris these previous two weeks. Gauff, the No. 2 seed, stormed by means of the draw — dropping only one set en path to the ultimate. She claimed the French Open title on Saturday behind a resilient comeback victory 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-4 over world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in two hours and 38 minutes. When it was over she fell on the clay, mendacity down together with her fingers masking her mouth in obvious disbelief. The tears streamed down her face whereas she waited for the trophy ceremony from her chair.
It is unsure if Gauff, nonetheless simply 21, will at some point make good on her final aim, the lofty, overly formidable one she’s spoken brazenly about since childhood that will put her in elite firm reserved for different one-name superstars like Serena, Novak, Roger and Rafa. However together with her triumph at Roland Garros and the start of what looks like her prime, she cements her spot as one of many biggest proper now.
“She has so many [major titles] forward of her,” Chris Evert, the 18-time Slam champion, stated on the printed after the match. “I imply we noticed that at 15 years outdated. We noticed when she beat Venus at Wimbledon. We thought, ‘This lady’s going to be successful 10, 12, 14 main titles. She’s bought the sport and if she will keep wholesome …’ She simply loves the sport and she or he’s going to be round for a protracted, very long time successful majors.”
Gauff’s title is already talked about amongst a number of the sport’s all-time greats. Saturday marked her twenty seventh match win at Roland Garros — tying her with Arantxa Sánchez-Vicario because the fourth-most within the Open period for a girl earlier than her twenty second birthday. Her semifinal victory broke a tie with Serena Williams for the second-most by an American girl in the identical class, and Gauff trails simply Evert, who received seven French Open titles.
She additionally turned the primary American to win the title at Roland Garros since Serena a decade in the past. And she or he is simply the fifth countrywoman within the Open period to win a number of Slam titles at 21 or youthful, becoming a member of Serena, Evert, Venus and Tracy Austin.
Michelle Obama and Billie Jean King had been amongst these to congratulate her on social media instantly after the win. Spike Lee, who was in attendance and sitting courtside, was the primary individual she hugged in celebration.
However Gauff wasn’t occupied with historical past or about her ever-growing fame throughout Saturday’s match. Nor was she pondering of her earlier matches in opposition to Sabalenka, or the 2023 US Open ultimate by which she defeated her. Gauff vividly remembered what it felt wish to lose the 2022 French Open ultimate on Court docket Philippe-Chatrier.
So, after shedding the one-hour-and-eighteen-minute first set in a tiebreak, Gauff knew what she needed to do and confirmed no seen indicators of frustration or agony. She wouldn’t miss out on the chance once more, and masterfully and clinically took management. Gauff wanted simply 33 minutes to assert the second set and dominated together with her robust serving, aggressive returns and blistering pace. However it was maybe her resolve and poise beneath stress that was essentially the most spectacular.
When you can dream it, you are able to do it ✍️ @cocogauff#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/cGYTZAStDc
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) June 7, 2025
“She’s a lot extra mature than a 21-year-old,” former world No. 1 and 2018 Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniacki stated after the match on the printed.
Sabalenka, who could not cover her apparent disappointment after the match, praised Gauff for being a “fighter and a tough employee” throughout her on-court speech. For Gauff, it was three years within the making. “I simply remembered, you already know, that ceremony when Iga [Swiatek] received, I simply remembered making an attempt to take all of it in and take note of each element and simply really feel like I needed that have for myself,” Gauff stated on Saturday. “So when the anthem bought performed, I vividly bear in mind watching her, fairly emotional when the Polish anthem bought performed. I used to be, like, ‘Wow, that is such a cool second.’ So when the anthem bought performed immediately, I form of had these reflections.”
Gauff’s emotional maturity and combat had been on show all through the clay season, by which she defeated a number of main champions and top-10 stars together with Iga Swiatek, Emma Raducanu, Zheng Qinwen and Mirra Andreeva (twice), and through her run at Roland Garros. She wanted three units in opposition to fellow American Madison Keys, the reigning Australian Open champion, after shedding the opener in a tiebreak.
Within the semifinals, she wanted to battle Lois Boisson, the shock French breakout star, and a complete stadium rooting in opposition to her. She allowed Boisson, who defeated the likes of No. 3 seed Jessica Pegula and No. 6 Andreeva in Paris, to only three whole video games.
“She was actually strong, and I could not play my recreation immediately as a result of she was simply too good,” Boisson stated on Thursday.
Whereas Gauff stays on the No. 2 rating, and three,470 factors behind Sabalenka, she can have alternatives to slim that deficit all through the summer season — beginning through the upcoming grass-court season. She is subsequent slated to play at Berlin, which will get underway subsequent week, however was not sure on Saturday if she would stay within the draw. Whereas Gauff has by no means superior previous the fourth spherical at Wimbledon — she matched her debut run in 2021 and 2024 — she will definitely look to construct on her momentum on the All England Membership this 12 months.
From there, she’s going to flip her sights to the hard-court summer season sequence and the US Open, the place all eyes shall be upon her from the house crowd and the New York media. However she’s proved she will deal with the stress and the expectations — and has the sport and angle to deal with all of it. Simply moments after posing with the trophy in entrance of a whole lot of photographers, Sloane Stephens, the 2017 US Open champion, requested Gauff what was subsequent.
“Hopefully one other one,” Gauff stated. “Yeah, undoubtedly one other one. However for now, simply having fun with this one and I am simply glad to get one other title to my résumé.”
Now virtually six years faraway from her head-turning, auspicious introduction to the tennis world, Gauff has the identical confidence, self-belief and joyful exuberance as she did then. She stays equally dedicated — if no more so — to her need to be nice, however time has given her one thing maybe much more useful and essential to attaining that: perspective.
When requested Thursday after advancing to the ultimate how she managed to not get overwhelmed by the magnitude of the state of affairs, she once more did not hesitate.
“I believe simply realizing how minuscule it’s,” Gauff stated. “Like all people is coping with manner greater issues in life than shedding a ultimate … I am certain there are a whole lot of gamers that will kill to win or lose a ultimate, so simply figuring out that, makes me notice how fortunate and privileged I’m to be on this place.
“At first I assumed it might be the top of the world if I misplaced, and you already know, the solar nonetheless rose the subsequent day. So figuring out, whatever the end result, the solar will nonetheless rise.”