Sabalenka put in a monumental effort to beat four-time French Open champion Swiatek in Thursday’s semi-final. The 27-year-old handed Swiatek her first loss at this tournament in four years and sealed the match with a bagel, winning 7-6 4-6 6-0.
But she couldn’t repeat her heroics in the championship match and suffered a collapse against Gauff after winning a marathon 80-minute first set. Sabalenka hit 70 unforced errors to just 30 from the American and, through tears, slammed her performance while still on court.
Afterwards, the world No. 1 said it was the worst final she had ever played and added: “If Iga would [beat] me another day, I think she would go out today and she would get the win.
“Yeah, it just hurts. Honestly hurts. I’ve been playing really well, and then in the last match, go out there and perform like I did, that hurts.”
Gauff was informed of Sabalenka’s comments when she attended her own press conference, but the newly-crowned champion brushed them off. “I mean, I don’t agree with that. I’m here sitting here,” she laughed.
The 21-year-old also beat Swiatek 6-1 6-1 at the Madrid Open last month, and quickly reminded everyone of how that match panned out.
She continued: “Last time I played – no shade to Iga or anything, but I played her and I won in straight sets. Yeah, I don’t think that’s a fair thing to say, because anything can really happen.
“Yeah, honestly the way Aryna was playing the last few weeks, she was the favourite to win. So I think she was the best person that I could have played in the final.
“Her being No. 1 in the world was the best person to play, so I think I got the hardest matchup just if you go off stats alone.”
Had she been given the choice, Gauff confessed that she would have preferred to play Swiatek. But the hypotheticals were irrelevant to her after she claimed her second Major crown.
“Obviously Iga being a champion here, it was going to be a tough match either way. But, yeah, I think regardless of who I played, I think I had a good shot to win, and I definitely had that belief,” she explained.
“If you asked me, honestly speaking to you guys who I wanted to play, it was Iga just because I felt Aryna was playing so good, and she was.
“But also, Iga is a tough opponent too. So honestly, neither of them would have been the better shot. But, you know, it played out how it played out. Yeah, that’s why I’m here today.”