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Tennis starCoco Gaufflost to Iga Świątek of Poland on Saturday in the singles final at the 2022 French Open.
The match, which lasted just over an hour, ended 6-1, 6-3.
“What you’ve done on tour the past couple of months has truly been amazing and you totally deserve it,” a tearful Gauff told her opponent during the trophy presentation, viaESPN. “Hopefully we can play each other in more finals and I can get a win over you one of these days.”
“You will find it and you will be there,” Świątek responded. “I’m pretty sure of that.”
However, Gauff’s time at the French Open is not over yet. On Sunday, she and tennis partner Jessica Pegula will face France’s Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovicin the women’s doubles final.
Saturday’s match was Gauff’s first Grand Slam singles final. She is now the youngest Grand Slam singles finalist sinceMaria Sharapovawon Wimbledon in 2004.
Leading up to the weekend’s games, Gauff received a show of support from formerFirst Lady Michelle Obama.
“Congrats, @CocoGauff! I’m so proud of you, and I will be rooting for you all the way!” Obama wrote in atweeton Thursday.
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While Gauff has had an impressive run at the French Open, it isn’t her only recent milestone: she celebrated herhigh school graduationin Paris last month.
“I did it. no 🎓,” Gauff captioned the post, referencing her graduation “cap.”
The young tennis star also opened up toPEOPLEearlier this year about achieving so much success at a young age.
“It’s definitely a different amount of pressure, I would say,” Gauff said. “Most of the time, I’m still younger than most of the opponents I play — or, actually, pretty much everyone I’ve played I’ve been younger than, and way less experienced.”
She added: “But I’ve been the favorite to win, and that’s definitely a transition that I would say that was kind of hard to make: to being the underdog, to then being the favorite.”
RELATED VIDEO: Coco Gauff Gets ‘Ecstatic’ When Venus Williams Comments on Her Instagram & Mentions Her in Interviews
Gauff also revealed other career goals, including another partnership withVenus Williams. Last year, thetwo teamed up in the French Openafter Gauff’s usual partner, Caty McNally, withdrew after suffering a knee injury. The two have remained close ever since.
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“[Venus is] always commenting on my stuff [on Instagram], and it’s pretty cool,” Gauff toldPEOPLEin March.
“She always mentions me on her lives or interviews,” she added, “and I’m like, ‘This is crazy.’ Every time, I would say I’m pretty ecstatic when she does that because I don’t expect it at all.”
source: people.com
