Tears of pain to tears of joy - Gauff's journey to glory

French Open 2025

Dates: 25 May-8 June Venue: Roland Garros

Coverage: Live radio commentaries across 5 Live Sport and BBC Sounds, plus live text commentaries on the BBC Sport website and app

Three years ago, the image of a distraught Coco Gauff crying under a towel was one of the rawest moments from a one-sided French Open women's final.

Still a teenager, Gauff cut a lonely figure as she sobbed on her chair in the aftermath of a brutal straight-set defeat by Poland's Iga Swiatek.

Gauff vowed to come back stronger - and she has.

Winning the maiden Grand Slam trophy of her career at the 2023 US Open to fulfil her prodigious talent was the first step.

And in Paris, the American world number two demonstrated her gritty mindset once again, fighting back from a set down to beat world number one Aryna Sabalenka and claim the Roland Garros title.

Reflecting on her 2022 defeat, Gauff, 21, said: "It was a tough time.

"I was doubting myself, wondering if I would ever be able to circumnavigate it, especially my mentality going into that match.

"I was crying before that final and I was so nervous. I was like, if I can't handle this, how am I going to handle it again?

"I just felt really ready today."

Gauff is one of the few players who truly transcends the sport.

Film director Spike Lee flew over from New York to sit courtside for the final, while Gauff namechecked rapper Tyler, The Creator and Olympic sprinter Gabby Thomas for inspiring her to victory.

Moments after she beat Sabalenka, Gauff pulled a scrap of paper from her bag.

On it, she had written 'I will win the 2025 French Open' as many times as she could fit on a page in her notebook.

The inspiration came from Thomas, who did a similar manifestation before her 200m triumph at last year's Paris Olympics.

Gauff said a video of Thomas talking about the process reappeared on her TikTok the night before the final.

"It came on my 'For You' page again and I felt it was meant to be," added Gauff.

"I wrote it last night and was looking at myself in the mirror, trying to instil it in my brain, so I had that belief.

"I didn't know if it would work or not - but it did."

There was a time when serious questions were being asked Gauff's mentality.

With her second serve liable to cough up double faults, and her forehand identified as a weakness, there were debates whether the issues were down to her mentality or technical deficiencies.

Some self-doubt appeared as recently as March, with her coach Jean-Christophe Faurel saying the pair "laid it down on the line" after a last-16 exit at the Miami Open.

Since then, she has won 18 of 21 matches and reached three successive finals in Madrid, Rome and Roland Garros.

"In Madrid and Rome, she lost the first set in her opening match. She could have gone out early and people would have said again, 'Coco can't win a match'," Faurel told the French Open website., external

"One of her greatest strengths is her mentality. She never gives up.

"She often makes the difference thanks to her strength of character."

This ability was evident during Saturday's final in Paris.

Playing in a testing wind, and trailing the dominant player on the WTA Tour, Gauff refused to buckle.

She fought back from 4-1 down to leave the first set hanging in the balance, then improved further in the next two sets as Sabalenka became increasingly frustrated.

"Mentally there is nobody stronger in the women's game," British former world number four Greg Rusedski, who was analysing the match for BBC Radio 5 Live, said.

"Her forehand wasn't firing at times and she looked like she was going to get blown away in the opening set, but she found a way to get through it."

When Gauff first arrived as a 15-year-old phenomenon at Wimbledon in 2019, she played with complete freedom.

Like all young players, difficulties followed as she embarked on a full-time professional career.

Gauff's run to the US Open title was helped by her team telling her to trust the raw materials she had.

But the maiden Grand Slam singles title did not open the floodgates.

Spanish coach Pere Riba left Gauff's team shortly after her New York triumph, while Brad Gilbert - a towering character who led Andre Agassi to six major titles - departed at the end of last season.

That led to the return of Faurel, a Frenchman who coached her before her Wimbledon breakthrough.

Gauff did not go beyond a quarter-final in the first four months of this season, leading to a heart-to-heart with Faurel after Miami.

"We had to change something up," said Gauff.

The pair talked about how she needed to improve her serve and play more aggressively when she could.

When Gauff has made more than 60% of her first serves against Sabalenka, she has won - and she landed 63% in what was her fifth career victory over her.

"She lost her way a bit," Faurel added.

"She's not a machine. It's also partly our fault - there were moments when we probably didn't do the right things.

"Now everything is clear in her mind, and that's why she's winning a lot of matches."