Coco Gauff inspired by rap song, serves up French Open victory

Addressing the Roland-Garros fans after her 2025 French Open win — the first American to win the tournament since Serena Williams did it in 2015 — Coco Gauff made a confession:

“I didn’t think I would do it,” she said.

Just as soon she made that surprising admission of self-doubt, she went on to quote the words of rapper Tyler the Creator, from his song “St. Chroma,” that gave her inspiration: “If I ever told you I had a doubt inside me, I would be lying.”

In her second appearance in a French Open final, Gauff showed tremendous resolve, resilience and poise beyond her 21 years, overcoming a slow start to beat Aryna Sabalenka 6-7, 6-2, 6-4 for her second major championship.

Not only is Gauff the first American to win the clay court major since Williams in 2015, she’s also the youngest American to win the French Open since a 20-year-old Williams won in 2002. That 2002 title for Williams was, like Gauff’s win June 7, her second major.

In 2025, the 75th anniversary of Althea Gibson becoming the first Black woman to play in a major, the winners of the two majors this year: Gauff at the French Open and Madison Keys at the Australian Open, share African American heritage.

The matchup between Gauff and Sabalenka was highly anticipated: it was the first Grand Slam final since 2018 to match the top two players in women’s tennis (Sabalenka and Gauff were ranked No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, in the tournament) as well as a rematch of the 2023 U.S. Open final that Gauff won in three sets.

Sabalenka is well known for her temperament before and after matches, famously losing her cool in the bowels of Arthur Ashe Stadium following that loss to Gauff.

Sabalenka, winner of three majors, lost her cool at times in the final two sets against Gauff on June 7 and afterward blamed her disappointing finish on the windy conditions.

“Playing great tennis and then in these terrible conditions to show such terrible tennis in the final, it really hurts,” a teary-eyed Sabalenka said after receiving her runner-up trophy. “Coco, congrats; in these tough conditions you were a better player than me.”

Gauff, regardless of conditions, proved herself a better player than Sabalenka, who has held the top spot since December of 2024. Even as she found herself in a hole early, losing the first set, Gauff kept her emotions in check while beginning to continuously frustrate Sabalenka by getting to balls that no one else in today’s game can reach. Gauff’s court coverage led to an incredible 70 unforced errors by Sabalenka.

Gauff dropped to the clay as she watched Sabalenka’s last shot sail wide, becoming the first woman in tennis history to win her first two titles after being a set down. Her win set off a flurry of congratulatory social media posts.

For Gauff, the win Saturday was her first in a major when facing a No. 1 player (she had previously lost to Iga Świątek at the French Open in 2024, 2023 and 2022, and lost to Naomi Osaka at the 2019 U.S. Open).

Since Williams’ last major win at the Australian Open in 2017 (she won 10 of her 23 majors between 2012 and 2017), 18 different players have won the 32 tournaments up for grabs. Sabalenka (three Grand Slam titles) and Świątek (five) have been the two most recent players to show signs of dominating the women’s game.

Gauff has positioned herself to be a focus of that conversation with her second Grand Slam title.

“That last game I was really nervous,” Gauff said during her post-match remarks. “I’m just glad to get another title to my resume.”

Gauff revealing at center court that she was inspired by the words of Tyler the Creator comes a year after she was name-dropped by the rapper on a 2024 single “Thought I was dead.”

Current players might take heed to that line Tyler the Creator delivered:

“You ain’t Coco Gauff, you can’t serve me.”

Sabalenka sure couldn’t serve Gauff who, with her second major under her belt, might find herself featured in some new rap bars in the near future.