Andy Murray has called out the French Open and other Grand Slams for handing out ‘tiny’ replica trophies to their champions. Coco Gauff’s version of the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen went viral after she jokingly poked fun at it in a social media post.
French Open rules do not allow the tournament’s winners to take home the real trophy. Instead, it stays in the possession of the competition and champions are handed a much smaller replica trophy to take home. Gauff shared hers in a TikTok video following her victory over Aryna Sabalenka in the Roland Garros showdown last weekend. The American’s followers were stunned by the size of the replica.
Despite his three Grand Slam victories, Murray was also surprised. He called on Grand Slams to provide a better version of the trophy. “Surely the tennis majors can do a better job with the replica trophies?! They are tiny,” Murray wrote on Instagram alongside a laughing emoji.
It came after Gauff jokingly placed the replica next to a water bottle to show just how small it was. In a TikTok video, the 21-year-old displayed a photo of herself holding the real Coupe Suzanne Lenglen and said: “This is the trophy that you guys saw me take pictures with and do press with and all of that. But actually, we don’t get to take that home.
“It stays with the tournament. I’m going to show you guys the one we take home. It’s a lot smaller. It’s a mini replica. To compare it, it’s really small.”
Placing the replica next to a water bottle, Gauff quipped: “That’s how small it is. It’s the memories that matter most. It’s very pretty.”
Gauff won the second Grand Slam of her career by beating Sabalenka in the final. Sabalenka claimed afterwards that her opponent had only won because of mistakes she had made.
Asked to respond to those comments, Gauff admitted: “I was a little bit surprised about the comments and everything, but I’m gonna give her the benefit of the doubt. I’m sure it was an emotional day, emotional match.”
Sabalenka has since written on social media: Coco handled the conditions much better than I did and she fully deserved the win,” her post on social media said. “She was the better player yesterday, and I want to give her the credit she earned.”