Coco Gauff, the world No. 10 women\u2019s singles player, has defeated 2nd-ranked Aryna Sabalenka 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, with a dramatic comeback in the women\u2019s US Open final. <\/p>\n
The star-studded crowd erupted with applause after Gauff\u2019s home-turf victory at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens. The win is 19-year-old Gauff\u2019s first career grand slam and makes her the first American teenager to win the US Open since 23-time major champion Serena Williams took the title in 1999. <\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like I\u2019m in shock at this moment,\u201d said an emotional Gauff after her win. \u201cGod puts you through tribulations and trials, and that makes this moment sweeter than I would have imagined.\u201d <\/p>\n
She thanked her family, her team, and \u201cthe people who didn\u2019t believe in me.\u201d <\/p>\n
Bidding for her second major title of the year, the soon-to-be women\u2019s world No. 1 Sabalenka made quick work in the first set, breaking Gauff\u2019s serve three times to win 6-2 in dominant fashion. <\/p>\n
However, with the packed crowd chanting \u201cLet\u2019s go Coco,\u201d Gauff raised her level in the second set, going up a break before eventually taking it 6-3 to force a deciding third set. <\/p>\n
A locked-in Gauff took control in the third set, going up a double break to inch ever closer to her maiden grand slam title. Although Sabalenka took the next two games, Gauff closed out the match to become the 12th teenager in US Open history to win the title. <\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know, I just knew that if I didn\u2019t give it my all, I had no shot at winning,\u201d Gauff said on how she found the strength to rally after dropping the first set. <\/p>\n
In her run to the final, the athlete twice lost the first set of a match, once in the first round against Laura Siegemund and again in the third round against Elise Mertens. <\/p>\n
With the victory, Gauff becomes the third American teenager to win the US Open title, joining Williams and Tracy Austin. She is set to move up to No. 3 in the WTA singles rankings, and co-No. 1 in doubles along with compatriot Jessica Pegula. <\/p>\n
After clinching the victory, Gauff dropped to the ground before getting up to hug Sabalenka. Afterward, Gauff was overcome with emotion and knelt down to take in the moment. <\/p>\n
Gauff poked fun at her father after the match as she thanked her family. \u201cThank you first to my parents,\u201d she said. \u201cToday was the first time I\u2019ve ever seen my dad cry. He doesn\u2019t want me to tell y\u2019all that, but he got caught in 4K!\u201d <\/p>\n
Meanwhile, despite the loss, the Belarusian star will move to No. 1 in the WTA singles rankings on Monday, ending Iga \u015awi\u0105tek\u2019s 75-consecutive week reign. <\/p>\n
Sabenka congratulated her competitor, saying, \u201cI hope we play in many more finals\u201d and calling Gauff \u201camazing.\u201d <\/p>\n
The American in turn congratulated Sabenka on her rise to the No. 1 position. \u201cAryna is an incredible player,\u201d she said. \u201cCongratulations on the no. 1 ranking, it\u2019s well deserved.\u201d <\/p>\n
At a news conference after the match, Sabalenka said the loss was a \u201clesson\u201d for her and she had started \u201coverthinking\u201d during the second set. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s me against me,\u201d she said. Gauff \u201cwas moving really and defending better than anybody else.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cI was playing against the crowd,\u201d she added. <\/p>\n
The last time Gauff and Sabalenka met was in the quarterfinals of Indian Wells in March, with the Belarusian winning comfortably, 6-4 6-0. Saturday\u2019s final was an altogether different contest, however, with Gauff improving rapidly in the six months that have passed since that defeat. <\/p>\n
The 19-year-old has won three WTA titles this season, including the biggest of her career in Cincinnati just before the US Open, and has won 17 of her last 18 matches. She is the youngest American woman to reach the US Open final since a 17-year-old Serena Williams did so in 1999. <\/p>\n
\u201cSerena is Serena. She\u2019s the GOAT. I hope to do half of what she did,\u201d Gauff said, per the WTA. <\/p>\n
The competition was the second grand slam final of Gauff\u2019s career after reaching the French Open final in 2022, where she was swiftly defeated by Iga \u015awi\u0105tek. <\/p>\n
But following her 6-4 7-5 semifinal win over Karol\u00edna Muchov\u00e1, Gauff spoke about the improvement in her mentality, going from somebody blighted by imposter syndrome to now believing she is capable of contending with the best players in the world. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s [imposter syndrome] still a part of me,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s something I\u2019m doing better with, definitely. Even after [winning Washington] DC, I still was like: \u2018Well, I beat some good people, but maybe I caught them on off days.\u2019 <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s still definitely a part of me, but I do think I\u2019m giving myself more credit more and speaking things into existence is real. I\u2019ve been trying to speak more positively of myself and actually telling myself that I\u2019m a great player.\u201d <\/p>\n
The sixth seed told reporters that after her first-round Wimbledon loss she was \u201cpreparing for next year,\u201d before adding she was \u201creally proud of myself\u201d for the way she has performed at Flushing Meadows. <\/p>\n
\u201cI have been focusing more on myself and my expectations of myself,\u201d said Gauff, per Reuters. \u201cI really believe that now I have the maturity and ability to do it.\u201d <\/p>\n
Until her semifinal against Madison Keys, Sabalenka had been dominant in New York \u2013 not dropping a set and never losing more than five games in a match. <\/p>\n
However, she was pushed all the way by the American on Thursday and had to bounce back from a brutal 6-0 first-set loss, eventually winning 0-6 7-6 (7-1) 7-6 (10-5).after two-and-a-half hours of grueling tennis. <\/p>\n
Such was the likelihood of a Keys victory late in the second set, Gauff was even asked about the prospect of facing her fellow American in her post-match press conference. <\/p>\n
Sabalenka\u2019s run to the final of the US Open caps off a remarkable year in which she won three titles \u2013 including her first grand slam at the Australian Open and her sixth Masters 1000 title in Madrid. <\/p>\n
Despite winning the last time they met, Sabalenka heralded Gauff\u2019s development this season and says she is a \u201cmuch better\u201d player now than she was six months ago. <\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s improved a lot,\u201d Sabalenka told reporters after her semifinal. \u201cSo it\u2019s a different player \u2013 we don\u2019t really like thinking about that match. <\/p>\n
\u201cGoing into this final, I think I just have to focus on myself and prepare myself for another fight. No matter what, just keep fighting and keep playing my best and do my best. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou know, there is nothing much you can, what else can you do? You just have to be there and you have to fight for it.\u201d <\/p>\n
Sabalenka will no doubt have to play before a partisan crowd in Saturday\u2019s final, but having already overcome an intense atmosphere against Keys on Thursday, she said she felt confident of handling the occasion. <\/p>\n
\u201cOf course, I would prefer [to] have someone else or [the] crowd be a little bit the same to both players, but today\u2019s match I think is gonna help me in the final because I\u2019ll be fine with this support. I\u2019ll be all right,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m still hoping that probably some of them will be supporting me \u2013 just a little bit. Just sometimes, please. Please,\u201d she laughed. <\/p>\n\n
Coco Gauff, the world No. 10 women\u2019s singles player, has defeated 2nd-ranked Aryna Sabalenka 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, with a dramatic comeback in the women\u2019s US Open final. The star-studded crowd erupted with applause after Gauff\u2019s home-turf victory at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens. The win is 19-year-old Gauff\u2019s first career grand slam and makes her <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":8150,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-8149","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8149","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8149"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8149\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8150"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}