By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Tuesday, June 17, 2025
Photo credit: Julien DeRosa-AFP-Getty
Reality has induced regret in Aryna Sabalenka.
World No. 1 Sabalenka calls her behavior after her Roland Garros final loss to Coco Gauff “completely unprofessional” and shared she wrote a letter to the two-time Grand Slam champion apologizing for her behavior.
The US Open champion said while we all have bad days at work “the difference with me is…I get a lot more hate for what I did.”
“I absolutely regret what I said back then,” Sabalenka told Eurosport Germany. “You know, we all make mistakes. I’m just a human being who’s still learning in life. “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 than other people.”
In the first French Open final between the world’s top two women in 12 years, No. 2 Gauff was simply too tough for No. 1 Sabalenka at crunch time.
A resilient Coco Gauff combated Sabalenka’s fierce power with pure poise pulling off a 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-4 comeback to capture her maiden Roland Garros championship in a thriller.
Afterward, the world’s best player called it her worst final.
“It was really honestly the worst tennis I’ve played in the last, I don’t know, in the last I don’t know how many month,” Sabalenka told the media in Paris afterward. “Conditions were terrible, and she simply was better in these conditions than me.
“I think it was the worst final I ever played.”
Sabalenka, who struggled to cope with whipping winds and an unrelenting Gauff’s comprehensive court coverage, took criticism afterward for what some felt were ungracious and classless comments.
The top-seeded Sabalenka committed 70 unforced errors. Sabalenka said at times she felt the tennis universe was playing a cosmic joke on her with Gauff’s running retrievals turning her damaging drives into punch lines.
“I mean, honestly sometimes it felt like she was hitting the ball from the frame,” Sabalenka said. “Somehow magically the ball lands in the court, and you kind of, like, on the back foot.
“It felt like a joke, honestly, like somebody from above was just staying there laughing, like, let’s see if you can handle this. And I couldn’t today.”
Reflecting on her comments, Sabalenka said she was upset after a physically and emotionally draining defeat and spoke out of frustration.
Since then, Sabalenka said she has apologized to Gauff.
“I was super emotional and not very smart at that press conference,” Sabalenka added. “It took me a while to revisit it, to approach it with open eyes, and to understand. I realized a lot about myself. Why did I lose so many finals? I kept getting so emotional.
“So I learned a lot. Above all, one thing: I’m the one who always treats my opponents with great respect - whether I win or lose.
“Without that respect, I wouldn’t be where I am today. So it was a tough but very instructive lesson for me.”
