Champ Gauff handles churlish jibes with grace

French Open champ Coco Gauff may only be 21 but she’s handled some unflattering remarks by her defeated opponent like a seasoned pro.

Gauff is fresh off her first French Open win, defeating world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the finals on Saturday. Gauff’s victory marked the first time in a decade that an American had won the French Open. However, her celebrations were tainted after Sabalenka made some shocking comments to the media following her loss.

“I think she won the match not because she played incredible,” said Sabalenka. “Just because I made all of those mistakes, if you look from the outside, from kind of easy balls.”

Although Sabalenka later retracted some of her comments, praising Gauff for how she “played with poise and purpose,” the damage was done. The original comments had already been aired out, and Gauff was certainly taken aback by her statements.

In response to Sabalenka’s comments, Gauff told “Good Morning America” on Monday: “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. I know she was probably a bit emotional after that match and it was a tough loss.”

Gauff went on to call Sabalenka a “fighter” and “a tough opponent,” noting that the windy conditions during the finals were very tough on both of them. That is something that the 27-year-old Belarusian noted as well, citing that Gauff “handled the conditions much better.”

Heading into the French Open finals, Gauff and Sabalenka had a career match record of 5-5 against one another. Gauff is 2-1 against Sabalenka in Grand Slam finals.