Aryna Sabalenka was in tears as she apologised for playing "terrible tennis" in Saturday's French Open final against Coco Gauff.
Sabalenka has finished as runner-up at both grand slams in 2025, having followed up her Australian Open final defeat to Madison Keys with another devastating loss at Roland-Garros.
The world number one raced into a 4-1, 40-0 lead in the opening set but was forced to come through a tie-break as unforced errors crept into her game.
She only held serve twice in 10 attempts at one stage, with her 70 unforced errors throughout the match being the most in the women's singles at this year's tournament.
Sabalenka became the first player to lose a French Open women's singles final from a set up since Sloane Stephens was pegged back by Simona Halep in 2018.
Speaking at the post-match ceremony, Sabalenka wiped away tears as she told fans: "Honestly guys, this one hurts so much, especially after such a tough two weeks playing great tennis under these terrible conditions.Â
"To show such terrible tennis in the final does really hurt, but it's okay.
"Congratulations to Coco. In these tough conditions, you were a better player than me.
"Well done on a great two weeks. Congratulations on a second grand slam, it is well-deserved. You are a fighter and a hard worker, so congratulations to you and your team.
"Thank you guys for the atmosphere, too. I really enjoy every second of being out here playing in front of you all, and it was a great two weeks."
Turning to her team, the Belarusian added: "Thank you for the support. I'm sorry for this terrible final. As always, I will come back stronger."
Sabalenka now has a record of three wins and three defeats in grand slam finals, with all of her victories coming on hard courts (2023 and 2024 Australian Open, 2024 US Open).
