{"id":30999,"date":"2025-06-09T21:13:49","date_gmt":"2025-06-09T19:13:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/?p=30999"},"modified":"2025-06-09T21:13:49","modified_gmt":"2025-06-09T19:13:49","slug":"i-definitely-belong-where-i-am-says-gauff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/2025\/06\/09\/i-definitely-belong-where-i-am-says-gauff\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;I definitely belong where I am,&#8221; says Gauff"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_31013\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-31013\" style=\"width: 770px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-31013\" src=\"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/rj5050ec_coco-gauff-afp_625x300_07_June_25-770x578.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"770\" height=\"578\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/rj5050ec_coco-gauff-afp_625x300_07_June_25-770x578.webp 770w, https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/rj5050ec_coco-gauff-afp_625x300_07_June_25-768x576.webp 768w, https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/rj5050ec_coco-gauff-afp_625x300_07_June_25.webp 806w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 770px) 100vw, 770px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-31013\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo Credit: AFP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>French Open winner, Coco Gauff, says she understands how emotional Aryna Sabalenka could&#8217;ve felt after her loss, saying she won&#8217;t dwell on snide comments.<\/p>\n<p>The 21-year-old has been the talk of the town after clinching the coveted Suzanne-Lenglen cup, winning 6-7, 6-2, 6-4 to beat the Belarusian world number 1.<\/p>\n<p>The win was, however, marred by the 21-year-old&#8217;s opponent&#8217;s remarks that Gauff didn&#8217;t win because she played a good game but due to her mediocre performance on court.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;She won the match not because she played incredible, just because I made all of those mistakes, from if you look from the outside, from easy balls,&#8221; said Sabalenka.<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 720px;\" class=\"wp-video\"><video class=\"wp-video-shortcode\" id=\"video-30999-1\" width=\"720\" height=\"900\" preload=\"metadata\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"video\/mp4\" src=\"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/g0nwQW2vu0Xxgj_p.mp4?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/g0nwQW2vu0Xxgj_p.mp4\">https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/g0nwQW2vu0Xxgj_p.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In an interview following her win, Gauff said she is where she belongs.<\/p>\n\t<div class=\"qtmplayer-playlist-large\">\n\t\t<ul class=\"qtmplayer-playlist\">\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"qtmplayer-trackitem qtmplayer-track-inpage\">\n\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/rj5050ec_coco-gauff-afp_625x300_07_June_25-100x100.webp\" alt=\"cover\">\t\t<span \t\t\tdata-qtmplayer-cover=\"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/rj5050ec_coco-gauff-afp_625x300_07_June_25-370x370.webp\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-qtmplayer-file=\"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/g0nwQW2vu0Xxgj_p.mp4\n6201981\nvideo\/mp4\n\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-qtmplayer-title=\"&#8220;I definitely belong where I am,&#8221; says Gauff\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-qtmplayer-artist=\"Nonhlanhla Harris\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-qtmplayer-link=\"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/2025\/06\/09\/i-definitely-belong-where-i-am-says-gauff\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-qtmplayer-icon=\"file_download\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-qtmplayer-type=\"track\"\n\t\t\t class=\"qtmplayer-play qtmplayer-link-sec qtmplayer-play-btn\"><i class='material-icons' aria-label=\"Play\">play_arrow<\/i><\/span>\n\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"qtmplayer-tit\">&#8220;I definitely belong where I am,&#8221; says Gauff<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"qtmplayer-art\">Nonhlanhla Harris<\/span>\n\t\t<\/p>\n\t<\/li>\n\t\t<\/ul>\n\t<\/div>\t\t\t\n\t\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_31014\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-31014\" style=\"width: 770px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-31014\" src=\"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Screenshot-2025-06-09-182000-770x506.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"770\" height=\"506\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Screenshot-2025-06-09-182000-770x506.png 770w, https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Screenshot-2025-06-09-182000-768x504.png 768w, https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Screenshot-2025-06-09-182000.png 784w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 770px) 100vw, 770px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-31014\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo Credit: Instagram<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Social media&#8217;s reaction to Sabalenka has been strong, with many suggesting that her comments may be racially motivated.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"lt\">Aryna Sabalenka \ud83d\udc4e\ud83c\udffd <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/SoreLoser?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#SoreLoser<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 \u2020 Blessed \u2020 (@Bumpylump) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Bumpylump\/status\/1932098614550995310?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 9, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Coco Gauff went on American media this morning and defended Aryna Sabalenka\u2019s negative comments about her and said she will give her the benefit of the doubt and that Aryna was probably just emotional after the match. As always, Coco is so gracious.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 LeDerius (@LeDerius) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/LeDerius\/status\/1932086104444031447?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 9, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Aryna Sabalenka has the caucacity to say Coco Gauff didn\u2019t win <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/FrenchOpen?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#FrenchOpen<\/a> because she played incredibly &#8211; No it\u2019s because she (Aryna) made mistakes. The utter KARENGITIS. What a sore loser! <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/s0jibc1tEx\">pic.twitter.com\/s0jibc1tEx<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu (@SholaMos1) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SholaMos1\/status\/1932086063381491757?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 9, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Why drag Swatiek into it. I had some respect for Aryna now boom gone with the wind. Such a sore loser.<br \/>\nCoco beat her and is French Open Champ. Sabalenka go deal with it.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 G10 MaNkomo (@gerti19174) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/gerti19174\/status\/1932084631223886209?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 9, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">I hope Aryna Sabalenka sees this &amp; learns from it. This is how a champion behaves after losing a big match. Grace. Gratitude. Giving thanks to everyone around him, his team &amp; all the people at the French Open who helped make the two-week event possible. A mature, thoughtful man.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Chris Fleming (@harvestnotes) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/harvestnotes\/status\/1932073492112978186?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 9, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">&#8220;I&#8217;m gonna give her the benefit of the doubt. I&#8217;m sure it was an emotional day, emotional match.&#8221; &#8211; Coco Gauff owning Aryna Sabalenka <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Rhigahr1Qc\">pic.twitter.com\/Rhigahr1Qc<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 gemini season (@sntimentalvalue) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/sntimentalvalue\/status\/1932071336723009553?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 9, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Sabalenka has now apologised for her comments and congratulated Gauff for her win.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_31012\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-31012\" style=\"width: 461px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-31012\" src=\"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Screenshot-2025-06-09-172645-461x770.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"461\" height=\"770\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Screenshot-2025-06-09-172645-461x770.png 461w, https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Screenshot-2025-06-09-172645.png 499w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 461px) 100vw, 461px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-31012\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo Credit: Instagram<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>French Open winner, Coco Gauff, says she understands how emotional Aryna Sabalenka could&#8217;ve felt after her loss, saying she won&#8217;t dwell on snide comments. The 21-year-old has been the talk of the town after clinching the coveted Suzanne-Lenglen cup, winning 6-7, 6-2, 6-4 to beat the Belarusian world number 1. ...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":31013,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30999","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/rj5050ec_coco-gauff-afp_625x300_07_June_25.webp","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30999","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30999"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30999\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31022,"href":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30999\/revisions\/31022"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31013"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30999"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30999"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30999"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}