Sabalenka rues another missed chance against Gauff in French Open final: 'This one hurts so much'

PARIS (AP) — While Coco Gauff was taking selfies on Court Philippe-Chatrier to celebrate her triumph on the Parisian clay, her opponent on the other side of the umpire’s chair was filled with anger and sadness.

As Roland-Garros officials prepared the court for the trophy ceremony, Aryna Sabalenka sat with her gaze lost in the distance before she took a towel and covered her face. And when it finally came time to speak, Sabalenka was silent for a long moment, as if on the verge of tears.

The assessment of her own performance, when she finally took the microphone to address the Roland-Garros crowd, was ruthless.

“Honestly guys, this one hurts so much," she said. “To show such terrible tennis in the final does really hurt.”

The top-ranked Sabalenka won the first set as her high-risk approach brought dividends initially. But once Gauff found her stride, the Belarusian's errors became more and more frequent and she lost the match between the world's two highest-ranked players 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-4.

Sabalenka hit 37 winners but finished the match with a staggering 70 unforced errors — compared to Gauff's 30. Sabalenka also dropped her serve nine times.

“I think I was overemotional,” she said. “I didn’t really handle myself quite well mentally, I would say. So basically that’s it. I was just making unforced errors. I think she won the match not because she played incredible; just because I made all of those mistakes from — like, if you look from the outside, kind of like from easy balls."

The disappointment was even greater given that Sabalenka has worked hard to adapt her game to the slow surface over the years, and after she ended Iga Swiatek’s 26-match unbeaten streak at the French Open in the semifinals.

“You’ve been playing against a lot of tough opponents, Olympic champion, Iga, and then you go out, and you play really bad,” she said during her post-match interview. “It was honestly the worst tennis I’ve played in the last, I don’t know how many months."

Sabalenka also complained about the weather conditions. The retractable roof over the center court remained open during the final, and Sabalenka was visibly annoyed by bursts of wind sweeping across the court.

“Conditions were terrible," the three-time major champion said. “When she would hit the ball, at some point the wind would just let the ball fly like crazy, and you know, I was late every time.”

This was the second major final Sabalenka lost to Gauff, after the 2023 U.S. Open, where she also won the first set. Sabalenka had won their most recent meeting on clay this year in Madrid and thought she had the weapons to beat the American on the biggest stage.

“It’s another tough Grand Slam final against Coco,” Sabalenka said. “Another terrible performance from me against Coco in the final. I have to step back, look at this from a perspective, and try to finally learn the lesson, because I cannot go out there every time against her in Grand Slam finals and play such terrible tennis and give those wins, not easily, but emotionally.”

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

Second placed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus reacts with the trophy after the final match of the French Tennis Open against Coco Gauff of the U.S. at the Roland-Garros stadium in Paris, Saturday, June 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus reacts during the final match of the French Tennis Open at the Roland-Garros against United States' Coco Gauff in Paris, Saturday, June 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus stis after losing the final match of the French Tennis Open at the Roland-Garros against United States' Coco Gauff in Paris, Saturday, June 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus reacts during the final match of the French Tennis Open at the Roland-Garros against United States' Coco Gauff in Paris, Saturday, June 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.

Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.

Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”

Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”

Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.

“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”

He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”

Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.

More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.

With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.

Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.

In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.

Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”

Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.

“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.

The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.

The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.

Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.

In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)