Aryna Sabalenka calls her French Open final comments about Coco Gauff ‘unprofessional'

Aryna Sabalenka has said she 'absolutely regrets' the 'completely unprofessional' comments she made after losing the French Open final to Coco Gauff, adding that she has apologized to the American.
In her on-court interview and post-match news conference, Sabalenka, the world No. 1, repeatedly described her own performance as 'terrible' and referred to the 'terrible conditions,' on court, particularly the strong wind. She claimed that Gauff, the world No. 2, had gotten lucky with shots that she had mishit but that landed in.
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'She was hitting the ball from the frame. Somehow, magically, the ball lands in the court,' Sabalenka said.
'It felt like a joke, like somebody from above was just staying there laughing, like, 'Let's see if you can handle this.'
'She won the match not because she played incredible, just because I made all of those mistakes, from if you look from the outside, from easy balls.'
Sabalenka even claimed that Iga Świątek, whom she had beaten in the semifinals, would have defeated Gauff in the final. When this was put to Gauff soon after, she said: 'I mean, I don't agree with that. I'm here sitting here.'
Sabalenka was heavily criticised for her comments, and in an interview with Eurosport Germany ahead of the German Open in Berlin, she said: 'It was just completely unprofessional of me. I let my emotions get the better of me. I absolutely regret what I said back then.
'I think we all have those days when we lose control. The difference with me is: the world is watching. I get a lot more hate for what I did afterwards than other people. But what I also want to say is that I wrote to Coco afterwards — not immediately, but recently.
'I wanted to apologize and make sure she knew she absolutely deserved to win the tournament and that I respect her. I never intended to attack her. I was super emotional and not very smart at that press conference.'
Sabalenka will play her first match of grass season Wednesday, against Switzerland's Rebeka Masarova. The German Open is her warm-up event for Wimbledon, a tournament that she has never won, but that she will enter as a favorite to win the title.
Sabalenka, who missed last year's event because of a shoulder injury, has lost in the final of both Grand Slams in 2025, as well as the Indian Wells final. She has also won three titles this year, and holds a lead of almost 3,500 points over Gauff at the top of the WTA Tour rankings.

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