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French Open champion Coco Gauff is bringing grand slam silverware back home from Roland Garros - but the trophy in question isn’t the same one she collected on Court Philippe-Chatrier on Saturday.
Gauff, 21, secured her her second grand slam title as she battled from behind to win a dramatic three-set final against the World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka, mastering difficult conditions to win her first Roland Garros.
Gauff’s victory came three years after she was thrashed 6-1 6-3 by Iga Swiatek in the 2022 French Open final, a defeat that left an 18-year-old Gauff in tears during the trophy ceremony.
This time, she was able to grit through to get her hands on the coveted Coupe Suzanne Lenglen, beaming with pride as the American national anthem played in Paris.
However, her time with the trophy was somewhat short-lived, with Gauff revealing on her flight that the prize never made it out of the French capital.
Instead, she is given a “mini replica” of the trophy to keep, the size of which Gauff demonstrates is hardly bigger than a French water bottle.
“It’s the memories that matter the most,” Gauff said as she chuckled at the size of her trophy.
Gauff also confirmed that the reason for the swap in silverware is down to the fact the full-sized trophy “stays with the tournament”.
The World No 2 battled to a 6-7 (7-5) 6-2 6-4 win over Sabalenka to lift her first grand slam since triumphing at the US Open in 2023, where she also beat the Belarusian.
It was the first of two epic finals at Roland Garros, with Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner following it up with their own five-set classic in what was the second longest grand slam final of all time - clocking in at five hours and 29 minutes.
English (US) ·