NEW YORK — Coco Gauff won her first major title on Saturday at the US Open with a 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory over Aryna Sabalenka in front of an adoring crowd under the roof on a stormy day at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
After the match, the 19-year-old American fell to the ground and laid on her back on the court before sobbing in celebration.
After hugging Sabalenka, Gauff ran up the stairs to tearfully hug her parents and then the rest of her team. Moments later, Gauff told the star-studded crowd, which included Kevin Durant, Diane Keaton, Nicole Kidman, Spike Lee, Mindy Kaling and 2006 champion Maria Sharapova, that she still hadn't fully processed the victory. «Oh my goodness, it means so much to me,» Gauff told ESPN's Mary Joe Fernandez. «I feel like I'm a little bit in shock in this moment.
That [2022] French Open loss was a heartbreak for me. But I realized God put you through tribulations and trials and that makes this moment even sweeter than I could have imagined.» Gauff is now the youngest American to win the US Open since Serena Williams in 1999 and the first American player to win a major title since Sofia Kenin at the Australian Open in 2020.