PARIS (Reuters) -Factbox on American second seed Coco Gauff, who defeated Belarusian world number one Aryna Sabalenka 6-7(5) 6-2 6-4 in the French Open final on Saturday to win her second Grand Slam title.
Age: 21
Nation: United States
WTA ranking: 2
Seeding: 2
Grand Slam titles: 2 (U.S. Open 2023, French Open 2025)
EARLY LIFE
* Started playing tennis aged six. Growing up, her tennis idols were Serena and Venus Williams.
CAREER TO DATE
* A former world number one junior, Gauff started her professional career on the ITF circuit in 2018.
* She burst into the spotlight when she became the youngest player to qualify for the main draw in the professional era at the age of 15 years and three months, upsetting five-time champion Venus Williams in the first round. She was beaten in the fourth round by eventual champion Simona Halep. Also won two doubles titles with Caty McNally. Won her maiden WTA singles title in 2019 at Linz.
* Won her second WTA singles title at Parma in 2021.
* Lost to Iga Swiatek in the French Open final in 2022. Finished runners-up in the women’s doubles final at the same tournament alongside Jessica Pegula.
* Gauff claimed the Cincinnati Open and Washington D.C. titles in 2023 in the build-up to the U.S. Open. Beat Sabalenka to become the first American woman to win the U.S. Open since Sloane Stephens in 2017.
* During 2024 she won her first Grand Slam doubles title at the French Open with Katerina Siniakova. Also became the female flag bearer for the U.S. at the Paris Olympics opening ceremony. She was the youngest-ever U.S. flag bearer and first American tennis player to be awarded the honour. She also captured the season-ending WTA Finals title.
* Gauff beat Sabalenka in the battle of the world’s top two players to win the 2025 French Open title.
(Compiled by Aadi Nair and Pearl Josephine Nazare in Bengaluru; editing by Pritha Sarkar)
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