The first French Open champion will be crowned on Saturday: Is this No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka or No. 2 Coco Gauff? Sabalenka has three Grand Slam titles in his name, while Gauff has one - but has never won Roland Garros before.
Our experts are all in charge of how everyone can win.
Rennae Stubbs: Goff must first serve more than 60% or she will have difficulty maintaining sufficient ongoing service. If she can do that and keep the pressure on the scoreboard, she can win. Her speed on the court means she can run enough balls down and put pressure on Sabalenka, but Gauff can't do it badly and she needs to check for double faults.
Simon Camber: Gauff's game has bothered Sabalenka. Spiritually, this is the most important thing. Backhand is crucial. If Goff can get most of the rally on her terms, she has a chance to win most baseline games. She will need to provide a large percentage of the first one, though, as Sabalenka will hammer the second serving unless Gauff manages to take it out of the batting area.
Her tenacity will be the key. Throughout the game, Gauff showed a huge mental power to get out of difficult situations, and the power of Sabalenka's game means she sometimes suffers from stress.
D'Arcy Maine: Gauff ended up showing up, not only with her opponent, but with about 15,000 fans in the stands, and arguably her best and most complete game in Thursday’s game. Even at her greatest moments, she proved her mental hardship and composition in terms of her mental hardship and composition, she should be more confident than ever after her decisive victory over Loïs Boisson.
Not to mention, she had previously beaten Sabalenka in a major final, a position she held at Roland Garros. If she can bring all this confidence, experience and emotional maturity, a second Grand Slam title is within reach, besides a strong outing and her trademark court coverage and defense.
Bill Connery: It's such a weird series where no player creates any long-term advantage over the opponent and the momentum moves back and forth. Gauff's serving works, then no. Sabalenka dominated the way she served in one game, then opened the door with her second serve in the next game.
Honestly, this is the worst and most obvious advice in the world, but if she was just serving, Goff's title odds would have increased significantly. When she hit more than 55% of the first match, she played 5-2 against Sabalenka. When she doesn't hit that mark, she's 0-3. So, let's start from there. She may find a chance to break Sabalenka, but only if her service does not dig a hole too big for her.
Tom Hamilton: consistency. Gauff can't afford those matched drops and accuracy. So she had to keep pace with the whole process. Just as Sabalenka did with Swiatek, she has the ability to find another level at the end of the game. So Gauff does have to split it into two.
As D'Arcy said, she has learned to deal with partisan crowds, but I think that will see the loyal divides of chatterers. Gauff has experience in the big finals of Roland Garros and will be disappointed to enter Saturday's game. She couldn't give Sabalenka a foothold at all.
Stubbs: Sabalenka can use the second serve and press Gauff's forehand. She also needs good service. If her service is not good, Goff will win longer, more physical points. Sabalenka can't be over-exaggerated, but must come in and shorten the point without letting Gauff grind her physically and mentally.
Camber: Sabalenka would believe that if she performed best, she would win. This is based on her performance and how she played and past performances, even though they were at a 5-5 level in previous sessions. She needs to serve well, but whenever she misses her first serve, she goes all out.
In the Sabalenka game, the gap in error is small, but like she beat Iga Swiatek in the semifinals, she can control it and do more spins and more security, even weird down shots when she needs it. Gauff's moves are great, but Sabalenka's touch is excellent, so when the rally does go deeper, she has a choice.
Maine: Play like she did in her decision to target Swiatek? If she does, it's hard to think anyone can stop her. But, as Simon mentioned, Sabalenka and Gauff's head-to-head record shows how well they match.
Sabalenka won their latest meeting 6-3, 7-6 (3) in the Madrid final last month, and in addition to boosting confidence in that victory, it also gave Sabalenka a blueprint for her victory again at Clay on Saturday. Just like her game against Swiatek on Thursday, Sabalenka stepped on gasoline, determined the pace and made Gauff uncomfortable from the start. Sabalenka did the same when Goff raised her level.
That's exactly what Sabalenka did in Paris for two weeks - she was just looking for ways to win, and her game seemed to improve in every match. If she can focus on the game at hand, rather than the huge range at the moment, then the trophy is her victory.
Connery: The two have played three times in the past year. When Gauff beat Sabalenka in a straight line in Riyadh, she won 13 of 17 points (76%) that lasted 7 or more shots. When Sabalenka won three-pointers at Wuhan, she finished 17 out of 31 (55%). In Madrid, their only meeting in Clay in the past four years, Sabalenka won 13 of 24 points (54%).
If Sabalenka can avoid the speed and defense of facing Gauff and at least divide these longer points, it will block Gauff's main potential pathways and force her to match the power of shorter points. This is good for Sabalenka's favorable tilt.
Hamilton: She just needs to stick to what she has done so far. Her shooting breed will trouble Dave (Gauff), and she will punish any willful second place. If she finds her level in the third set against Swiatek, there is no player on Earth to deal with. Sabalenka will not be confused by such occasions at all and will be confident in victory. She has been relaxing in Roland Garros over the past two weeks and will soon deflect pressure elsewhere. This quiet confidence is ominous and you feel that if she finds the Swiatek-type level of controlled aggression, she is her favorite.
Stubbs: Slightly, I mean slightedge to Sabalenka three sets.
Camber: Sabalenka believes that she needs to win this victory to be seen as one of the great men in history, and that is the extra motivation she needs to overcome this line. However, she had the least hole in the game, and Gauff had problems with serving and forehand, both of which could collapse under pressure.
In some ways, Goff may feel that she has nothing to lose, which may put her in danger, but when the heat burns and things get tough, despite her mental perseverance, it may not be enough. Sabalenka is divided into two sets.
Maine: Sabalenka three sets. I chose Gauff at the start of the game, but Sabalenka's near-mastery of Swiatek made me rethink that. Seeing her so high in the three-time defending champion’s game and knowing she wants to win a non-tenacious Grand Slam and avenge the 2023 U.S. Open final, Sabalenka’s victory is almost inevitable.
Connery: With the way the momentum of the series changes, it is no surprise that the three racers are simply. If in doubt, I will go with better overall players. Sabalenka is 40-6 this year, making it to five of her last six Grand Slams, and she just beat Roland Garros' Queen in the semi-finals. Gauff has performed well in the semifinals and would give herself a reliable chance if she was in the serving world, but Sabalenka is the best player in the world and she isn't always win Her finals, we'll say she participated in this one.
Hamilton: OK, everyone went with Sabalenka. Instead, it's Goff's time. I remember sitting in the post-match press conference after losing my Swiatek title in 2022. She was shocked, but also had a quiet determination that she wouldn't let it slip if she had a chance again. Rhyme and reason say it is Sabalenka's title, but Gauff's unquantifiable quality of quiet determination will make her favour. She just needs to land those initial services without having to give Sabalenka a foothold. If she flies around through obstacles, it is Goff's title.