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Coco Gauff became the first American tennis player since Serena Williams to win the French Open on Saturday, and in doing so, she got halfway to the career grand slam. But Gauff’s prize, in addition to a sizable check, wasn’t exactly all it was made out to be.
During the post-match celebrations, Gauff was handed the trophy that goes to the French Open winner and proudly lifted it overhead for all to see. But the trophy given to the winner at Roland Garros isn’t actually the trophy that the tournament champions get to take home.
Coco Gauff Reveals That The Real French Open Trophy Is Much Smaller Than Expected
Gauff posted a TikTok on Sunday afternoon that showed off the real French Open trophy. As it turns out, tournament champions don’t get to keep the big trophy. That stays on the grounds at Roland Garros. Instead, they’re given a significantly smaller replica, which Gauff compared to the size of a Perrier bottle and a glass of water. The trophy appears to be roughly the same size as a 1-liter soda bottle.
“Not the sippy cup for the CHAMPION,” one TikTok commenter said.
“Wow, the real trophy is massive compared to the one you get to take home! But hey, memories last forever!” wrote another.
Gauff’s finals victory over top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka didn’t come without controversy, however. After the match, Sabalenka put her loss down to her own poor play rather than how well Gauff played.
“(Coco) won the match not because she played incredible, just because I made all of those mistakes,” she said.
She’s since walked those comments back to some degree, stating on Instagram that ““I made over 70 unforced errors, so I can’t pretend it was a great day for me. But both things can be true… I didn’t play my best, and Coco stepped up and played with poise and purpose. She earned that title. Respect.”
Ultimately, it’s Gauff who walked out with the trophy, however small it may be. So whether that was due to her strong play of Gauff’s poor play doesn’t much matter.