‘Third time’s a charm’: Coco Gauff claims her first grand slam doubles title
Coco Gauff won her first grand slam doubles title on Sunday as the American and her playing partner Katerina Siniakova secured a straight sets victory in the French Open final.
Gauff and Siniakova, from the Czech Republic, defeated Italians Jasmine Paolini and Sara Errani 7-6, 6-3 on Court Philippe Chatrier.
It was Gauff’s third women’s doubles final after losing championship matches at Roland Garros in 2022 and the US Open in 2021. It was a familiar situation for Siniakova, who claimed her eighth grand slam doubles title, and her third at the French Open.
‘The third time is the charm. Thank you, Katerina, for playing with me. We decided to play together two days before the tournament,” said Gauff, the reigning women’s singles champion at the US Open. “Thank you to the fans. I know that 11:30 am on Sunday morning is early for most people. It’s early for me.”
Paolini also finished second in the singles final at Roland Garros on Saturday, behind four-time champion Iga Swiatek. Swiatek defeated Gauff in the singles semifinals.
“The last two weeks have been very fun, very emotional,” Paolini said. “I have a lot of memories. I can’t wait to be back.”
Siniakova owns a career slam in women’s doubles alongside partner Barbora Krejcikova – including the French Open in 2018 and 2021. Errani also owns a career slam in doubles alongside her former partner Roberta Vinci. The Italian duo won the French Open title in 2012 – the year Errani lost the singles final.
“It is very special to be in this court again. I don’t know how many more years I have to play. But it is always special to play these kinds of matches,” said 37-year-old Errani. “It will be special to play the Olympic Games here in this place. So I’ll see you in a month.”
Paolini played in her first women’s doubles final.
Errani’s serve was broken twice in the first set, and Paolini stayed on the baseline to compensate in the 11th game. The tactic worked as Errani held his serve.
Gauff and Siniakova took the first set when Errani’s volley went over the net and raced to a 4-1 lead in the second set, with Paolini 0-30 behind on her serve. The Italians fought back to 4-3 with a service game to follow, but Errani’s serve was broken again and their momentum was lost.