COCO Gauff is headed back to the French Open final after a dominant 6-1, 6-2 victory over French wildcard Loïs Boisson on Friday, June 6, 2025.
The No. 2-ranked Gauff booked a spot in Saturday’s title match against world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, which mark the first No. 1 vs. No. 2 final at Roland-Garros since 2013, when Serena Williams defeated Maria Sharapova, and just the second such clash in Paris in the last 30 years.
“Anything can happen on Saturday,” Gauff said. “But I’m looking forward to it, and glad to be going up against a world No. 1, too.”
Gauff and Sabalenka have split their 10 prior meetings, including last year’s US Open final, where Gauff won her first Grand Slam title. Sabalenka got the better of their most recent duel, on clay in Madrid, setting up what promises to be a high-stakes rubber match in Paris.
Sabalenka advanced earlier Friday with a statement win of her own, snapping Iga Swiatek’s 26-match French Open winning streak in a gritty 7-6 (1), 4-6, 6-0 semifinal performance. The Belarusian, 27, owns three major titles and will play in her first Roland-Garros final.
Gauff, meanwhile, had to contend not just with Boisson’s inspired run, but with 15,000 mostly partisan fans on Court Philippe-Chatrier loudly backing the 361st-ranked hometown sensation.
“I was mentally prepared before the match that it was going to be 99 percent for her. But I just tried to block it out,” Gauff told the crowd in her post-match interview, laughing. “And actually, when you guys were chanting her name, I was saying to myself my name. Just to kind of psych myself out. You have to do that.” / RSC