After a series of hard and enduring training and innovation, Coco Gauff captured her second Grand Slam title in a sweaty, tense, and tiring match against Aryna Sabalenka, the previous world champion.

Nearly two years after Gauff’s first Grand Slam title in the 2023 US Open, she won her second at the French Opens 2025. After two hours and 38 minutes of back and forth between the two powerful players, Gauff finally won the match.

Gauff rolled around face-first on the red ground after the match finished. She hugged Sabalenka and many other people afterward, excited with, but still not quite believing her hard-fought success. But of course, her championship this year didn’t come without any hardships.

Last September, Gauff was in a press room, being interviewed after doing quite badly in a fourth-round competition against Emma Navarro. She missed a great number of forehands and also hit 19 double faults. Under severe pressure from the media and herself about her bad performance in that match, she started to question and doubt herself about her ability. Nine months later, though, she has made it through and gotten another Grand Slam trophy.

“I didn’t think I could do it,” Gauff said at her award ceremony. During that year, Gauff’s coach pressed her to believe in herself and improve her moves. She improved her serve even though she didn’t know if the new one was good enough. She leaned on her forehand and played offensive instead of defensive in games. She tried to “change the world” and also change many of her playing styles in that period of time. And finally, it paid off. She now has two Grand Slam awards in her possession.

During the final match, Gauff said that “she felt ready to leave her heart and her lungs on the court, and regardless of the result, she could leave proud.” With this more positive and free attitude towards this important match, she played more freely and pushed Sabalenka running into different ends of the court. After losing the first set, Gauff quickly checked her attitude and won the others.

Gauff’s story of winning her second Grand Slam after a year of doubt wasn’t a story of endurance and practice. It was about going into the unknown even when you are not sure about the results and about pushing yourself to your limits. Gauff’s story is one that motivates everyone to follow their dreams and not give up on anything they like.