The morning after: Gauff's uplifting message to fans after French Open win
Fresh off her title run, Coco Gauff brought the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen into the heart of Paris on Sunday, sharing a moment of celebration with thousands of fans at Place de la Concorde.
After recently teaming with the Italian fashion label Miu Miu for an exclusive on-court collaboration, Gauff leveled up her off-court fashion for the accompanying commemorative photo shoot. She had previously worn the brand off-court, including two custom gowns at the Oscars in Los Angeles this spring, and a glittering gold gown for her April 2024 Vogue cover shoot. She opted for an elevated casual look to celebrate her second Grand Slam singles title.
Looking effortlessly cool with the Eiffel Tower in the distance, Gauff wore a white cotton shirt with an embroidered double collar, paired with a suede lambskin skirt and tonal belt. She finished the look with a custom navy blue blouson jacket and her signature Miu Miu x New Balance 530 SL sneakers in black, white and gum-soled colorway.
But high fashion wasn't all that was on show. Gauff's trophy shoot came with an uplifting message to fans on social media, as the magnitude of her triumph only continued to sink in in the hours after the match. In a heartfelt Instagram post, she spoke about overcoming doubts -- saying that the Gauff of three years ago who lost the French Open final to Iga Swiatek would love to see her now.
"Losing in the finals here three years ago had created a lot of doubt in my head," Gauff wrote. "I thought I could never overcome the pressure; I thought holding this trophy would never happen. I thought my dreams were so close to happening but would never come true. So to be here means absolutely everything.
"The more I started to dig deeper into my thoughts, I realized deep down I didn’t truly believe any of those thoughts ... The younger Coco would have looked at me crazy because that girl never doubted a thing in her life, especially when it came to tennis. But needless to say, I learned having doubt enter your head is impossible to escape but not impossible to overcome.
"Yesterday was a result of that. I overcame … and if I can, so can you."
Gauff is the first American woman to win the clay-court major since Serena Williams in 2015.
