Coco Gauff, a 20-year-old American tennis star, has become a Grand Slam champion in both singles and doubles. Gauff, alongside Katerina Siniakova, won her first major doubles title at the French Open on Sunday, defeating Italians Jasmine Paolini and Sara Errani 7-6 (5), 6-3. This victory adds to Gauff’s achievements, following her U.S. Open singles win last year.
Reflecting on her unexpected triumph, Gauff said, “I think it’s just one of those things that when you least expect it to happen, it happens.” This win marks her first victory after losing in two previous women’s doubles finals at Roland Garros in 2022 and the U.S. Open in 2021.
Gauff and Siniakova decided to team up just two days before the tournament and celebrated by kissing the Coupe Simonne Mathieu, the winners’ trophy. “Third time’s a charm. Thank you, Katerina, for playing with me,” Gauff said. “Thank you to the fans. I know 11:30 Sunday morning is early for most people. It’s early for me.”
The doubles final took place before the men’s singles final between Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev later that day. Gauff joked about the early match time, saying, “I would much rather play before the men’s final than after it because that could go seven hours. 11:30 was fine. It was just a joke because I don’t like waking up early.”
Paolini had just finished as runner-up in the singles final at Roland Garros to four-time champion Iga Swiatek, who defeated Gauff in the singles semifinal.
Siniakova has a career Grand Slam in women’s doubles with partner Barbora Krejcikova and has won eight majors, including the French Open in 2018 and 2021. Errani also boasts a career Grand Slam in doubles with her former partner Roberta Vinci, having won the French Open title in 2012.
Errani, 37, reflected on her career, saying, “It’s really special to be in this court again. I don’t know how many more years I have to play. But it’s always special to play these kinds of matches.” She looks forward to playing in the Olympics in the same venue.
In the final, Gauff and Siniakova took the first set after breaking Errani’s serve twice. Despite a brief comeback from the Italians, the pair secured a 4-1 lead in the second set and eventually won the match when Errani’s volley went long.
