The world’s best-known Sabalenka claimed on Tuesday that her remarks at Roland-Garros after her defeat to Gauff were incorrect.
The Belarusian had suggested in her post-match press conference that Gauff’s performance was more a result of her own errors than Gauff’s.
After winning the opening set in a tiebreak, Sabalenka had already won the match, but Gauff came up with a stunning 6-7, 6-2, 6-4 comeback to win her second Grand Slam.
The 27-year-old admitted to making 70 unforced errors in the final and later claimed that Gauff won “not because she played incredible,]but because I made all of those mistakes,” which she has since regretted doing.
Sabalenka told Eurosport Germany, “That was just completely unprofessional of me.”
“I let my emotions control me.” I regret everything I said then. We all make mistakes, you may be aware. I’m just a human being still learning. We all go through those times when we lose our balance, in my opinion. However, I also want to mention that I wrote to Coco recently afterward.
She claimed she emailed Gauff to apologize and to “make sure she knew she deserved to win the tournament and that I respect her.”
Sabalenka continued, “I never intended to attack her.” At that press conference, I was “extremely emotional and illogical.” Not entirely grateful for what I did. It took me a while to reflect on it, examine it, and come to terms with it knowing. I gained a lot of insight into myself. Why did I fail so many finals?
Gauff defeated Sabalenka, a three-time major champion, in the US Open final in 2023, for which she also won the first set.
Sabalenka continued, “I kept getting so emotional.” So I gained a lot of knowledge. One thing is unrelated to everything: Regardless of whether I win or lose, I always treat my foes with great respect. Without that consideration, I wouldn’t be where I am today. Therefore, I learned a difficult but important lesson.
Source: Aljazeera
Leave a Reply