Aryna Sabalenka ‘learnt a lot’ from reaction to losing the French Open final

By Molly Hunter, PA

World number one Aryna Sabalenka has been able to clear the air with Coco Gauff after her emotional reaction to losing the French Open final to the American earlier this month.

The Belarusian was heavily criticised after attributing the defeat to her own mistakes rather than Gauff’s performance, and apologised both privately and publicly for describing the match as the worst final she had played.

The two players looked to have put those hostilities firmly behind them in social media clips posted from Wimbledon on Friday, and Sabalenka was contrite in accepting the negative response her comments prompted.

She said: “I’ve always been really good with Coco. Honestly, as I said in the statement and I messaged to her, I didn’t really want to offend her.

“I was just completely upset with myself, and emotions got over me. I just completely lost it.

“I did what I did. I get what I deserve, I believe. It was a tough time for me. The lesson is learned.

“Honestly, I’m kind of glad what happened to me at Paris, because I was able to learn a lot.

“I was able to sit back and be open to myself, not just to ignore some things. I think I realised a lot of things about myself in those last stages of the tournament.

“We spoke with the team. I think we learned something. I really hope it will never happen again.”

Sabalenka, who is up against Canadian Carson Branstine in the first round, has no qualms about facing Gauff again should the two end up involved in a rematch in the Wimbledon final.

“If I make it to the finals, I don’t care (who I play), but also I would love to face Coco,” she said.

“If she’s going to be there, I’m happy because I want to get the revenge!”.

Sabalenka has been limbering up for the tournament by having a hit with both Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner, with the former happy to offer advice drawn from his vast experience.

She said: “Novak is the best. First of all, I was able to hit with him, which not every guy would be able to do. Then you can chat with him, he will give his honest advice.

“It’s amazing to hear opinions of such a legend. We were just chatting about stuff that I’m struggling with a little bit. I’m really thankful for the advice he gave me.

“It was a 30-minute chat. If you give opportunity to Novak to talk, he’s not going to stop! I wish I could stay there for four hours and just keep chatting, but we all have our schedule.

“Honestly, I hit with Jannik for like, I don’t know, 10 minutes – I was exhausted!

“An hour with Novak…now I’m recovered. I needed a day of recovery but it was a great experience. When you see someone like Jannik or Novak, you learn from them. You reflect what they do on court. It was great for me.”

Gauff intends to shelve memories of her French Open triumph for the time being to focus on the tournament.

She said: “I’m very much someone who can look ahead very quickly. The first two days after I was just trying to really take it in.

“I’d rather just stay in the moment and think about this and kind of forget the French (Open), then revisit it maybe at the end of the season and celebrate it a little bit more.

“I’ve lost in the fourth round a few times, so I would love to get past that stage. I would say that’s the next thing I’m looking forward to.

“I would love to win this, but I’m a big believer in just conquering one step at a time. If I get past that stage, then I’ll start thinking about the winning.”

Of the apology she received from Sabalenka after her post-French Open remarks, Gauff added: “It was just water under the bridge. I know Aryna.

“I felt like before that we got along pretty well anyways before all that happened. It wasn’t very hard to accept that apology.”