Coco Gauff celebrated a major milestone Sunday by winning her first Grand Slam doubles title at the French Open, partnering with Katerina Siniakova. The 20-year-old American and her Czech partner defeated Italians Jasmine Paolini and Sara Errani 7-6 (5), 6-3 to clinch the trophy. The win adds to Gauff's impressive resume, which includes a U.S. Open singles title.
Gauff expressed gratitude to her partner and the fans after the match.
“Third time's a charm. Thank you, Katerina, for playing with me. We decided two days before the tournament to play together,” Gauff said, per the Associted Press. “Thank you to the fans. I know 11:30 Sunday morning is early for most people. It's early for me.”
Reflecting on the unexpected win, Gauff said, “I think it's just one of those things that when you least expect it to happen, it happens.”
This marks her third appearance in a women’s doubles final, having been runner-up at Roland Garros in 2022 and the U.S. Open in 2021.
“After I lost the first two (doubles) finals, I thought, well, okay, I reached that point, maybe I should focus on singles,” Gauff said. “Same thing, U.S. Open. When I won it, I didn't expect to win. I was having a really bad year. Then here, I didn't even expect to play. I think it's funny how life teaches you those lessons.”
The final took place before the men’s singles final, a scheduling detail Gauff jokingly acknowledged.
“I would much rather play before the men's final than after it, because that could go seven hours. 11:30 was fine. It was just a joke, because I don't like waking up early,” she said.
Paolini, who also played in the singles final against Iga Swiatek, reflected on her busy and emotional two weeks. Gauff lost to Swiatek in the singles semifinals.
“The last two weeks were very nice, very emotional,” Paolini said. “I have a lot of memories. I can't wait to be back.”
Siniakova, alongside partner Barbora Krejcikova, have achieved a career Slam in women's doubles, winning eight major titles, including the French Open in 2018 and 2021.
Errani, with her own illustrious doubles career, which includes a career Grand Slam in doubles with her former partner Roberta Vinci – the Italian duo won the French Open title in 2012, the same year Errani lost in the singles final – acknowledged the special experience of competing in such matches at her age, 37.
“It's really special to be in this court again. I don't know how many more years I have to play. But it's always special to play these kinds of matches,” Errani said.
The final was characterized by strategy, particularly with Gauff and Siniakova breaking Errani’s serve multiple times. Despite a strong fight from the Italians, Gauff and Siniakova's consistency secured their win.
Coco Gauff's French Open loss to Iga Swiatek in singles
Earlier in the tournament, Swiatek moved closer to capturing her fourth French Open title by defeating Gauff 6-2, 6-4 in the semifinals. Swiatek’s victory secured her place in the finals, where she clinched her third consecutive Roland Garros championship vs. Paolini Saturday.
“For sure, it was intense,” Swiatek said of her match vs. Gauff. “In the second set, it was kind of tight because we were breaking each other. I’m happy that I was consistent with my tactics, didn’t overthink stuff and just went for it at the end.”
Swiatek's tactical consistency shined against Gauff. Despite a competitive second set, she maintained composure, breaking Gauff's serve early and holding her lead. The win extended Swiatek’s winning streak at Roland Garros to 20 matches and her overall streak to 18. Swiatek has now triumphed over Gauff in 11 of their last 12 encounters, including two previous French Open meetings.
In the opening set, Swiatek quickly asserted control, breaking Gauff’s serve in the first game and again at 3-1. Gauff struggled with consistency, making several unforced errors. The second set saw heightened emotions as Gauff disputed a call with the chair umpire. Despite breaking Swiatek’s serve to lead 3-1, Gauff couldn't maintain her advantage. Swiatek responded by winning four consecutive games and closed out the match after Gauff saved three match points but missed on the fourth.
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