Why Mats Wilander has ‘no issue’ with ‘honest’ Aryna Sabalenka after ‘unprofessional’ Coco Gauff remarks following French Open final

World No. 1 Sabalenka said that Gauff won the match “not because she played incredible (but) just because I made all of those mistakes”.

“That was just completely unprofessional of me. I let my emotions get the better of me,” said the 27-year-old.

Following the storm, it appears Sabalenka and Gauff are still on good terms as they are set to practice together at Wimbledon on Friday.

As the top two seeds, they could only meet again in the final of the Grand Slam, and TNT Sports expert Wilander thinks there is a “healthy” rivalry between the pair.

“I don’t think there’s an issue with Aryna Sabalenka and her attitude because she is so honest that I think if she’s angry and she speaks her mind and then she’s able to realise that ‘maybe I shouldn’t have said that’ and ‘maybe I need to apologise,’ then do that! And then the next time, be honest again. And then maybe you have to apologise again.

“I think that why she’s such a huge crowd favorite these days and such a huge favorite when it comes to the game itself – because she’s honest. And this is what you get.

“She’s going to be as loud as she wants to be, that she feels like she needs to be to play her best tennis.

“We’re not going to say anything about that because she’s just so honest and she tries so hard. She’s such a great competitor that I think we’re just starting to see this competitor that’s such an intrigue to watch play because she’s so into it emotionally and physically and technically.

“She’s as exciting to watch as any player in the world, if not the most exciting, because now you have this side to her because she could maybe get a little angry and explode for a moment. Now, how much fun isn’t that?

“She’s becoming just the absolute total package when it comes to a competitor and the entertainment value.”

Sabalenka has practised at Wimbledon this week with men’s world No. 1 Jannik Sinner and 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic.

She is bidding to win the grass-court Slam for the first time, having lost in the semi-finals on her last two appearances.

Gauff, meanwhile, hasn’t made it past the fourth round yet but will be looking to build on her second Grand Slam title win in Paris earlier this month.

“I think Gauff is definitely up there with one of the two favorites of winning Wimbledon,” said Wilander.

“I think her serve will become better and better because the confidence will get better and better…I think the confidence is massive for Gauff at Wimbledon.

“She can move on an ice rink, and she’s going to be a great mover on grass. And I don’t think that that’s going to be a problem. I think her forehand is going to become better and better because she’s going to understand how much she needs to do with a forehand to win because she’s playing to win. She’s not playing to play great tennis. She’s playing to win.”

Wilander also thinks Gauff can challenge Sabalenka as world No. 1.

“I think Coco Gauff can definitely start to compete with being No. 1 in the world because I think she’ll become really consistent,” said Wilander.

“She is pretty consistent, but she’ll become more consistent with that extra confidence of having won her second Grand Slam title.”