The initial situation before the women’s final at the French Open, which is endowed with 43.6 million euros, seems clear: The top seeded Iga Swiatek comes with a series of 34 victories en suite on Saturday (3 p.m. / live ServusTV, Eurosport). Center Court and also won the title in Roland Garros two years ago. Her opponent Cori “Coco” Gauff is only 18 and is in her first major final. So the Pole is a favorite once morest the American.
But the carefree nature of the youngest French Open finalist since Kim Clijsters (2001) mixed with a maturing process makes Cori Gauff, who prefers to be called Coco, a dangerous opponent. The “tennis prodigy” became known to fans around the world at the age of 15 when she advanced to the round of 16 at Wimbledon. Then she won her first WTA title in Linz, also in 2019, followed in 2021 in Parma on sand.
With her message written on the camera following the semi-final victory over Matina Trevisan (ITA), Gauff showed that she also wants to make a difference outside of tennis. “Peace” and “End Gun Violence” was the message the Florida teenager sent out to the world. It meant the war in Ukraine and the killing sprees in their homeland. When asked regarding it later, Gauff explained it like this: “When I was younger, my father told me that I might change the world with my racket. He didn’t just mean that by playing tennis. He meant that I had problems how these speak.”
Gauff has gone through a maturation process, also by thinking outside the tennis bubble, she said. “My grandmother always says there’s more to life than that, you have to relax on the pitch.” She was able to adopt this way of thinking. And now Gauff is in the final without losing a set.
And yet Swiatek, who is also only 21, is a high hurdle for the American. The Polish likes to listen to hard rock from Led Zeppelin, AC/DC or Guns N’Roses before her matches. “I use the music so my brain has something to do and I’m relaxed before the match. But it also helps me to build up energy,” said the world number one regarding her ritual. And like a rock star, she has been sweeping the tennis courts of this world since February: titles in Doha, Indian Wells, Miami, Stuttgart and Rome have not made her the declared favorite for nothing.
While there were hardly any clear contenders for women in Paris in recent years, and surprise winners were the norm, everything is going according to plan for Swiatek so far. Aside from losing a set in the round of 16 once morest China’s Zheng Qinwen, she’s had a flawless run.
Swiatek has cemented her number 1 position for a long time, and if she wins a second Roland Garros title she will have almost twice as many world ranking points as Anett Kontaveit (EST), who will be second from Monday. Gauff is at least 13th from Monday, she creates the premiere Grand Slam title, she improves to eighth place and would be in the top ten for the first time. In addition, it would be a stage victory in the internal struggle with her strong compatriots Danielle Collins and Jessica Pegula, she would then also be the best US woman for the first time.
Regardless of world ranking points, Swiatek and Gauff, as finalists, each have 1.1 million euros in prize money, the triumphant even receives double that. In the head-to-head of the two, it is 2-0 for Swiatek. In last year’s Rome semi-finals, the Pole won 7:6(3),6:3, this year on the way to the Miami title in the round of 16 she won 6:3,6:1.
