After taking home her first French Open title in dramatic fashion, tennis superstar Coco Gauff peeled back the curtain on the reality of her Grand Slam victory.
In a video posted via TikTok on Monday, June 9, Gauff, 21, spoke over a backdrop of her hoisting the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen trophy after defeating Aryna Sabalenka in the women’s final on Saturday, June 7.
“This is the trophy that you guys see, the one that we take pictures with, do press with and all that,” Gauff explained. “Actually, we don’t get to take this home. This stays with the tournament.”
Gauff then pulled out the actual trophy she received, which is a much smaller replica of the one she was presented with inside Court Philippe-Chatrier.
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To compare, Gauff held the mini trophy over her head and laughed. “It’s really small,” she said.
Gauff even placed the trophy next to a glass bottle of Perrier for a size comparison, with the bottle eclipsing more than half of the trophy’s height.
“It’s the memories that matter the most,” Gauff said of the surprisingly small piece of hardware. “It is very pretty and it is a miniature version of the real trophy. So, this is the one I get to take home.”
@cocogauff fun fact! #rolandgarros
Many tennis fans in the comments were shocked to learn that the French Open champion doesn’t actually receive the trophy seen on TV.
“Wow, the real trophy is massive compared to the one you get to take home!” one wrote “But hey, memories last forever!”
Another commented, “Something I don’t think many of us knew outside the world of professional tennis. 
In any case, as long as your name is spelled correctly engraved in The Hall of Champions and that check clears. 
”
Gauff’s French Open victory was not without controversy, as Sabalenka, 27, drew the ire of many critics for saying it was “the worst final I have ever played” and partially crediting Gauff’s win to some luck.
“She was hitting the ball from the frame, somehow magically the ball lands in the court,” Sabalenka told reporters after Gauff’s 6-7, 6-2, 6-4 triumph. “It felt like a joke, honestly, like somebody from above was there laughing, like, ‘Let’s see if you can handle this.’ … I think she won the match not because she played incredible, just because I made all of those mistakes.”
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Gauff responded to Sabalenka’s comments after the match, saying, “I don’t agree with that.”
“The way Aryna was playing the last few weeks, she was the favorite to win,” Gauff added. “So I think she was the best person that I could have played in the final. Her being No. 1 in the world was the best person to play, so I think I got the hardest matchup just if you go off stats alone.”
Sabalenka attempted to clarify her comments the next day, congratulating Gauff on social media.
“Yesterday was a tough one,” Sabalenka shared via her Instagram Story. “Coco handled the conditions much better than I did and fully deserved the win. She was the better player yesterday, and I want to give her the credit she earned.”
