The wait for an American champion at the French Open is over.
Coco Gauff secured her second Grand Slam title on the famous clay of Roland Garros on Saturday afternoon, beating world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the women’s singles final.
Gauff won the 2025 French Open, ending a decade-long US drought at Roland GarrosGettyBefore the 21-year-old lifted the trophy high above her head, the US had suffered a decade of disappointment in Paris, with Serena Williams the last American to win a singles title back in 2015.
“Some people may feel some type of way about being patriotic and things like that, but I’m definitely patriotic and proud to be American,” Gauff said after her 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-4 win at the French Open.
“I’m proud to represent the Americans that look like me and people who kind of support the things that I support.”
For the men, of course, the long wait for glory at Roland Garros will extend through 2025.
No American has won the men’s singles title since before the turn of the century, and Andre Agassi was the last to do it, back in 1999.
He beat Ukraine’s Andrei Medvedev 1–6, 2–6, 6–4, 6–3, 6–4 to secure glory that year.
But before Agassi, it was Jim Courier who found glory for America on the Roland Garros stage.
To this day, he is the only male US star to win the French Open twice in the Open Era.
Those triumphs came back-to-back, in 1991 and 1992, with wins in the final against countryman Agassi and Czechoslovakia’s Petr Korda.
Courier was a dominant force on the court, and went into that second final ranked as the world No. 1 having won the Australian Open months before returning to Roland Garros.
Courier was a back-to-back French Open champion in the 1990sGetty He lifted the title in 1991 and 1992, and also won back-to-back at the Australian OpenGettyIncidentally, he also won the Melbourne Grand Slam back-to-back in 1992 and 1993, before going on to contest the Wimbledon final that year for the second time.
But while Courier flew the flag for the US on the biggest stage in his heyday, he has long retired and is better known to a younger generation of fans for his on-court interviews with the stars of today.
The four-time Grand Slam champion has quite a reputation for providing amusing conversations with legends like Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and more recently, Jannik Sinner.
He even hosted an ‘awkward and unusual’ press conference with Hollywood actor Will Ferrell ahead of the 2018 Australian Open.
While his questions, which often come in the moments after play concludes, have drawn laughter from the crowd on many occasions, Courier did have a tense moment with Djokovic earlier this year.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion announced that he would boycott on-court interviews at the Australian Open and media appearances with Channel Nine until he received an apology from the Australian television network after a reporter ‘made a mockery’ of Serbian fans and “made insulting and offensive comments” towards him.
Djokovic refused an interview with Courier earlier this yearGetty The legend’s issue was not with Courier himself, but with Australia’s Channel NineGetty Djokovic addressed the crowd in Australia, but refused to speak to the TV channelGettyUpon advancing into the quarter-finals of the tournament, he had been due to speak with Courier for the on-court interview, but after a brief off-mic conversation, Djokovic instead took the mic and addressed the crowd before signing autographs and leaving.
He went on to explain the issue at the start of his post-match press conference.
“Couple days ago the famous sports journalist who works for official broadcaster Channel Nine here in Australia, made a mockery of Serbian fans and also made insulting and offensive comments towards me,” he said, referencing reporter Tony Jones.
“And since then, he chose not to issue any public apology. Neither did Channel Nine. So since they’re official broadcasters, I chose not to give interviews for Channel Nine.
“I have nothing against Jim Courier or the Australian public. It was a very awkward situation for me to face on the court today.
“It’s unfortunate I chose to say something to the crowd, but obviously it wasn’t the time and space or situation for me to explain what I’m doing right now. I leave it to Channel Nine to handle this the way they think they see fit. That’s all.”
Djokovic’s Australian Open issue, of course, was not with Courier — he just happened to get caught in the middle of it.
In fact, the US tennis legend has often proven a hit with both players and fans, and his best moments with legends like Federer have been clipped into long compilations to enjoy on YouTube.
Courier has interviewed the biggest names in tennis over the yearsGetty Some of his on-court conversations have been called ‘cringe’ by fansGetty Other viewers, meanwhile, enjoy the amusement that Courier bringsGettyBut he has sometimes been criticised by viewers for being ‘annoying’ and ‘cringey’ on tennis coverage, notably if he talks over points too much, or interrupts a player during their interview.
Of course, you can’t please everyone, and there is a very fine line between good commentary and bad.
Courier, with all his experience as both a player and broadcaster, will certainly know that — and more often than not he walks that line well.
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