"The sun will still rise”: Grounded Coco Gauff keeping expectations realistic ahead of French Open final

America’s Coco Gauff has opened up about how she will approach the final of the French Open 2025. The 21-year-old cemented a spot in the grand finale at the Roland Garros after beating France’s Lois Boisson in straight sets with a score of 6-1, 6-2.

She will now face Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka in the grand finale of the competition. The reigning world number one cemented her spot after beating the defending champion, Poland’s Iga Swiatek, with a score of 7-6, 4-6, 6-0. Talking ahead of the all-important clash, Gauff stated how she would approach the all-important finale. The current world number two stated that over the period of time, she has realised that playing in a final of a major event is more of a privilege than anything else. She also stated that she understands that losing a final is not the end of the world, as other people on this planet are dealing with much difficult things.

“I think just realizing how minuscule it is,” she said. “Everyone is dealing with way bigger things in life than losing a final. Also realizing how many players wanted to be in this position. I’m sure there are hundreds of players that would kill to win or lose a final. So just knowing that makes me realize how lucky and privileged I am to be in this position. At first I thought it’d be the end of the world if I lost. And you know, the sun still rose the next day. So knowing regardless of the result, the sun will still rise. Especially being in a city like Paris, I was walking around the next day and no one knew that I lost. No one cared. Some people know who I am but not everyone. Just realizing how big the moment seems in our lives is not as big in the grand scheme of things.”

This will be Gauff’s second final in the mega-event after the 2022 edition, where she lost to Swiatek in straight sets with a score of 6-1, 6-3. Overall, Gauff will be playing in her third Grand Slam final. The other final was at the US Open in 2023, where she lifted the title after beating Sabalenka with a score of 2-6, 6-3, 6-2.