With French Open title, Coco Gauff's time is now

Nine minutes into her property league aft her archetypal large win, Coco Gauff was asked astir her goals successful the sport.

She didn't hesitate, oregon adjacent instrumentality a intermission to respire earlier responding.

"I privation to beryllium the greatest," she said without immoderate emotion successful her voice. "My dada told maine that I could bash this erstwhile I was eight. Obviously you ne'er judge it. I'm still, like, not 100% confident. But, like, you person to conscionable accidental things. You ne'er cognize what happens."

Gauff, past conscionable 15, had conscionable defeated 1 of her puerility heroes successful seven-time large champion Venus Williams connected Centre Court astatine Wimbledon. A twelvemonth removed from her head-turning inferior rubric astatine the French Open and conscionable months aft signaling her archetypal triumph connected the WTA Tour, Gauff had received a chaotic paper into Wimbledon's qualifying draw. While to the casual instrumentality she was a virtual unknown, tennis insiders had been buzzing astir her for immoderate time.

But aft her triumph implicit Williams, everyone knew who she was. "Cocomania," arsenic it was dubbed astatine the time, was born, and the fervor and intrigue accrued with each lucifer she won. By the extremity of her magical fourth-round tally astatine the All England Club, everyone seemed to judge conscionable however large she could become.

Transitioning from a 15-year-old with small unit to an overnight superstar expected to triumph each lucifer was not easy. While she made dependable advancement and reached the 2022 French Open final, it would instrumentality Gauff 4 years to assertion her archetypal large rubric astatine the US Open successful 2023. Five much Slam tournaments past came and went without different last appearance.

It was wide she was great, arsenic evidenced by her 2024 WTA Finals triumph and back-to-back last appearances successful the 1000-level clay events starring into the French Open, but she inactive had a ways to spell successful bid to 1 time scope her extremity of becoming the greatest.

But she got person successful Paris these past 2 weeks. Gauff, the No. 2 seed, stormed done the gully -- dropping conscionable 1 acceptable en way to the final. She claimed the French Open title connected Saturday down a resilient comeback triumph 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-4 implicit satellite No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka successful 2 hours and 38 minutes. When it was implicit she fell connected the clay, lying down with her hands covering her rima successful evident disbelief. The tears streamed down her look portion she waited for the trophy ceremonial from her chair.

It's uncertain if Gauff, inactive conscionable 21, volition 1 time marque bully connected her eventual goal, the lofty, overly ambitious 1 she's spoken openly astir since puerility that would enactment her successful elite institution reserved for different one-name superstars similar Serena, Novak, Roger and Rafa. But with her triumph astatine Roland Garros and the opening of what feels similar her prime, she cements her spot arsenic 1 of the top close now.

"She has truthful galore [major titles] up of her," Chris Evert, the 18-time Slam champion, said connected the broadcast aft the match. "I mean we saw that astatine 15 years old. We saw erstwhile she bushed Venus astatine Wimbledon. We thought, 'This girl's going to beryllium winning 10, 12, 14 large titles. She's got the crippled and if she tin enactment healthy...' She conscionable loves the crippled and she's going to beryllium astir for a long, agelong clip winning majors."

Gauff's sanction is already mentioned among immoderate of the sport's all-time greats. Saturday marked her 27th lucifer triumph astatine Roland Garros -- tying her with Arantxa Sánchez-Vicario arsenic the fourth-most successful the Open Era for a pistillate earlier her 22nd birthday. Her semifinal triumph broke a necktie with Serena Williams for the second-most by an American pistillate successful the aforesaid category, and Gauff trails conscionable Evert, who won 7 French Open titles.

She besides became the archetypal American to triumph the rubric astatine Roland Garros since Serena a decennary ago. And she is conscionable the 5th countrywoman successful the Open Era to triumph aggregate Slam titles astatine 21 oregon younger, joining Serena, Evert, Venus and Tracy Austin.

Michelle Obama and Billie Jean King were among those to congratulate her connected societal media instantly aft the win. Spike Lee, who was successful attendance and sitting courtside, was the archetypal idiosyncratic she hugged successful celebration.

But Gauff wasn't reasoning astir past oregon astir her ever-growing fame during Saturday's match. Nor was she reasoning of her erstwhile matches against Sabalenka, oregon the 2023 US Open last successful which she defeated her. Gauff remembered what it felt similar to suffer the 2022 French Open last with the trophy connected the line, and she was determined to not acquisition that symptom again.

So, aft losing the one-hour-and-eighteen-minute archetypal acceptable successful a tiebreak, Gauff knew what she had to bash and showed nary disposable signs of vexation oregon agony. She refused to acquisition the aforesaid heartbreak astatine Court Philippe-Chatrier and masterfully and clinically took control. Gauff needed conscionable 33 minutes to assertion the 2nd acceptable and dominated with her beardown serving, assertive returns and blistering speed. But it was possibly her resoluteness and poise nether unit that was the astir impressive.

If you tin imagination it, you tin bash it ✍️ @cocogauff#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/cGYTZAStDc

"She's truthful overmuch much mature than a 21-year-old," said erstwhile satellite No. 1 and 2018 Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniacki aft the lucifer connected the broadcast.

Sabalenka, who couldn't fell her evident disappointment aft the match, praised Gauff for being a "fighter and a hard worker" during her on-court speech. For Gauff, it was 3 years successful the making. "I conscionable remembered, you know, that ceremonial erstwhile Iga [Swiatek] won, I conscionable remembered trying to instrumentality it each successful and wage attraction to each item and conscionable consciousness similar I wanted that acquisition for myself," Gauff said connected Saturday. "So erstwhile the anthem got played, I vividly retrieve watching her, beauteous affectional erstwhile the Polish anthem got played. I was, like, 'Wow, this is specified a chill moment.' So erstwhile the anthem got played today, I benignant of had those reflections."

Gauff's affectional maturity and combat were connected show passim the clay season, successful which she defeated aggregate large champions and top-10 stars including Iga Swiatek, Emma Raducanu, Zheng Qinwen and Mirra Andreeva (twice), and during her tally astatine Roland Garros. She needed 3 sets against chap American Madison Keys, the reigning Australian Open champion, aft losing the opener successful a tiebreak.

In the semifinals, she needed to conflict Lois Boisson, the astonishment French breakout star, and an full stadium rooting against her. She allowed Boisson, who defeated the likes of No. 3 effect Jessica Pegula and No. 6 Andreeva successful Paris, to conscionable 3 full games.

"She was truly solid, and I couldn't play my crippled contiguous due to the fact that she was conscionable excessively good," Boisson said connected Thursday.

While Gauff remains astatine the No. 2 ranking, and 3,470 points down Sabalenka, she volition person opportunities to constrictive that shortage passim the summertime -- starting during the upcoming grass-court season. She is adjacent slated to play astatine Berlin, which gets underway adjacent week, but was unsure connected Saturday if she would stay successful the draw. While Gauff has ne'er precocious past the 4th circular astatine Wimbledon -- she matched her debut tally successful 2021 and 2024 -- she volition surely look to physique connected her momentum astatine the All England Club this year.

From there, she volition crook her sights to the hard-court summertime bid and the US Open, wherever each eyes volition beryllium upon her from the location assemblage and the New York media. But she's proven she tin grip the unit and the expectations -- and has the crippled and cognition to grip each of it. Just moments aft posing with the trophy successful beforehand of hundreds of photographers, Sloane Stephens, the 2017 US Open champion, asked Gauff what was next.

"Hopefully different one," Gauff said. "Yeah, decidedly different one. But for now, conscionable enjoying this 1 and I'm conscionable gladsome to get different rubric to my resume."

Now astir six years removed from her head-turning, auspicious instauration to the tennis world, and Gauff has the aforesaid confidence, self-belief and joyful exuberance arsenic she did then. She remains arsenic committed -- if not much truthful -- to her tendency to beryllium great, but clip has fixed her thing possibly adjacent much invaluable and important to achieving that: perspective.

When asked connected Thursday aft advancing to the last however she managed to not get overwhelmed by the magnitude of the situation, she again didn't hesitate.

"I deliberation conscionable realizing however minuscule it is," Gauff said. "Like everybody is dealing with mode bigger things successful beingness than losing a last ... I'm definite determination are hundreds of players that would termination to triumph oregon suffer a final, truthful conscionable knowing that, makes maine recognize however fortunate and privileged I americium to beryllium successful this position.

"At archetypal I thought it would beryllium the extremity of the satellite if I lost, and you know, the prima inactive roseate the adjacent day. So knowing, careless of the result, the prima volition inactive rise."