June 9, (THEWILL)- Coco Gauff and Katerina Siniakova etched their names into the history books on Sunday, claiming the French Open women’s doubles title in thrilling fashion. The unseeded duo defeated Italians Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini 7-6(5), 6-3 in a hard-fought final at Roland Garros. Â
For the 20-year-old Gauff, this marked her maiden Grand Slam doubles triumph, while Siniakova added an eighth major doubles crown to her illustrious resume. Their pairing was a last-minute decision after Gauff’s regular partner Jessica Pegula withdrew from the tournament. “Thank you, Katerina, for playing with me, we decided to do it two days before the tournament started,” Gauff said. “It was very last minute, I wasn’t planning on playing doubles, so thank you for asking me.”
The match was a gripping affair, with both teams trading breaks throughout a tightly contested opening set decided by a tiebreaker. Errani and Paolini led 5-3 in the breaker, but Siniakova’s clutch play helped swing momentum in her team’s favour. Gauff and Siniakova carried that form into the second set, fending off four break points in the opening game before streaking ahead.Â
Though Errani and Paolini fought valiantly to stay afloat, Gauff’s booming serve proved too formidable when it mattered most. The American held firm to seal the victory, while a dejected Paolini was left ruing a double disappointment after her lopsided singles final loss to Iga Swiatek a day earlier.
“It’s been two very intense weeks for me, very nice but very emotional,” Paolini admitted. “I have a lot of memories and I can’t wait to be back here.” For Gauff and Siniakova, however, the triumph marked the start of new Grand Slam memories.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
