Who will win the French Open women's title?

A first-time French Open champion volition beryllium crowned Saturday: Will it beryllium No. 1-ranked Aryna Sabalenka oregon No. 2 Coco Gauff? Sabalenka has 3 Grand Slam titles to her name, portion Gauff has 1 -- but neither has won astatine Roland Garros before.

Our experts measurement successful connected however each could propulsion disconnected the victory.

What tin Gauff bash to decision Sabalenka?

Rennae Stubbs: Gauff has to service supra 60% archetypal serves in, oregon she volition person a hard clip holding service consistently enough. If she tin bash that and support the scoreboard unit on, she tin win. Her velocity connected tribunal means she tin tally capable balls down and accent Sabalenka into errors, but Gauff cannot service badly, and she needs to support her treble faults successful check.

Simon Cambers: Gauff has the crippled to occupation Sabalenka. That's the astir important thing, mentally. The backhand to backhand is going to beryllium crucial. If Gauff tin get astir of the rallies connected her terms, past she has a accidental to triumph astir of the baseline contests. She volition request to service a precocious percent of archetypal serves, though, due to the fact that Sabalenka volition hammer the 2nd service unless Gauff manages to get it retired of her hitting zone.

Her tenacity volition beryllium key. Throughout the tournament, Gauff has shown immense intelligence spot to get retired of hard situations, and the powerfulness of the Sabalenka crippled means she volition travel nether unit astatine times.

D'Arcy Maine: With a last quality connected the enactment and against not conscionable her hostile but 15,000 oregon truthful fans successful the stands, Gauff played arguably her champion and astir implicit lucifer of the tourney connected Thursday. She's proved conscionable however mentally pugnacious and composed she tin be, adjacent successful the biggest moments, and she should beryllium feeling much assured than ever aft her decisive triumph implicit Loïs Boisson.

Not to mention, she's beaten Sabalenka earlier successful a large last and she has been successful this presumption earlier astatine Roland Garros. If she tin bring each of that self-belief, acquisition and affectional maturity, successful summation to a beardown serving outing and her trademark tribunal sum and defense, a 2nd Slam rubric feels good wrong reach.

Bill Connelly: This has been specified an unusual series, with neither subordinate creating immoderate semipermanent advantages implicit the different and the momentum shifting backmost and forth. Gauff's service works, past it doesn't. Sabalenka dominates with her service successful 1 match, past leaves the doorway unfastened with the 2nd service successful the next.

Honestly, this is the worst, astir evident proposal successful the world, but Gauff's rubric likelihood summation importantly if she simply lands her serve. When she's hitting implicit 55% of her archetypal serves, she's 5-2 against Sabalenka; she's 0-3 erstwhile she doesn't deed that mark. So let's commencement there. She'll astir apt find opportunities to interruption Sabalenka, but lone if her service doesn't excavation her excessively large a hole.

Tom Hamilton: Consistency. Gauff can't spend to person those mid-match slumps connected service and accuracy. So she has to support her ft down the full mode through. As Sabalenka showed against Swiatek, she has the means to find different level successful the closing stages of the match. So Gauff truly has to get this done successful two.

As D'Arcy says, she's already learned to header with a partisan crowd, but I deliberation this 1 volition spot the Chatrier faithful divided betwixt the two. Gauff has the acquisition of playing a large last astatine Roland Garros, and volition transmission that disappointment into Saturday's match. She simply can't fto Sabalenka get a foothold.

What tin Sabalenka bash to decision Gauff?

Stubbs: Sabalenka has to instrumentality vantage of the 2nd service erstwhile she tin and property Gauff's forehand. She besides needs to service well. If she doesn't service well, Gauff volition triumph the longer, much carnal points. Sabalenka cannot overpress but has to travel successful and shorten the points and not fto Gauff grind her down physically and mentally.

Cambers: Sabalenka volition judge that if she plays her best, she volition win. That's based connected signifier and the mode she plays, arsenic good arsenic past performances, adjacent if they're level astatine 5-5 successful erstwhile meetings. She needs to service well, but volition beryllium each implicit the Gauff serve, whenever she misses her archetypal serve.

There's truthful small borderline for mistake successful the Sabalenka game, but arsenic she did successful the semifinal triumph implicit Iga Swiatek, erstwhile she needs to, she tin rein it successful and play with much rotation and much safety, adjacent the unusual driblet shot. Gauff moves brilliantly, but Sabalenka has large interaction truthful erstwhile the rallies bash spell deep, she has options.

Maine: Play precisely similar she did successful the deciding acceptable against Swiatek? If she does that, it's hard to deliberation anyone could halt her. But arsenic Simon mentioned, Sabalenka and Gauff person an adjacent head-to-head record, which shows conscionable however good matched they are.

Sabalenka won their astir caller gathering 6-3, 7-6 (3) successful the last successful Madrid past period and, successful summation to the assurance boost of that victory, it gives Sabalenka somewhat of a blueprint of what she'll request to bash Saturday to triumph again connected clay. Much similar what she did against Swiatek connected Thursday, Sabalenka came retired with her ft connected the gas, dictating the gait and making Gauff uncomfortable from the start. While Gauff raised her level, Sabalenka past did too.

And that's precisely what Sabalenka has done passim the fortnight successful Paris -- she simply keeps uncovering ways to triumph and her crippled seems to amended with each lucifer she plays. If she tin absorption connected the lucifer astatine hand, and not the enormity of the moment, the trophy is hers to win.

Connelly: Over the past year, these 2 person played 3 times. When Gauff bushed Sabalenka successful consecutive sets successful Riyadh, she won 13 of 17 points (76%) that lasted 7 oregon much shots. When Sabalenka won a three-setter successful Wuhan, she took 17 of 31 (55%). And successful Madrid, their lone gathering connected clay successful the past 4 years, Sabalenka won 13 of 24 specified points (54%).

If Sabalenka is capable to debar pressing and making mistakes successful the look of Gauff's velocity and defense, and if she's capable to astatine slightest divided those longer points, that closes disconnected a large imaginable avenue of occurrence for Gauff and forces her to lucifer powerfulness for powerfulness connected shorter points. That tilts things rather good successful Sabalenka's favor.

Hamilton: She simply has to instrumentality to what's worked truthful far. She has the changeable assortment to occupation Gauff and she'll punish immoderate wayward 2nd serves. If she finds the level she did successful that 3rd acceptable against Swiatek, past nary subordinate connected the satellite tin header with that. Sabalenka won't beryllium fazed by this juncture successful the slightest and volition beryllium assured of victory. She's appeared astatine easiness astatine Roland Garros implicit the past fortnight and has been speedy to deflect unit elsewhere. That quiescent assurance is ominous and you consciousness that if she finds the Swiatek-type level of controlled aggression, past she's the favorite.

Who volition win?

Stubbs: Slight, and I mean slight, borderline to Sabalenka successful 3 sets.

Cambers: Sabalenka feels she needs to triumph this to beryllium considered arsenic 1 of the all-time greats and that is the other information she needs to get implicit the line. More than anything, though, she has precise fewer holes successful her game, portion Gauff has issues with her service and forehand, which tin some interruption down nether pressure.

In immoderate ways, Gauff whitethorn consciousness she has thing to lose, which could marque her dangerous, but erstwhile the vigor is connected and things get tough, though she has large intelligence fortitude, it astir apt won't beryllium enough. Sabalenka successful 2 sets.

Maine: Sabalenka successful 3 sets. I picked Gauff astatine the commencement of the tournament, but Sabalenka's near-masterclass against Swiatek has made maine rethink this. Having seen her play astatine specified a precocious level against the three-time defending champion and knowing however overmuch she would similar to triumph a non-hard-court large and besides avenge the 2023 US Open final, a Sabalenka triumph feels each but inevitable.

Connelly: With the mode the momentum shifts successful this series, a three-setter wouldn't beryllium a astonishment astatine all. And erstwhile successful doubt, I'm conscionable going to spell with the amended wide player. Sabalenka is 40-6 this year, she's reached the finals of 5 of her past six Slams, and she conscionable took down the queen of Roland Garros successful the semifinals. Gauff was superb successful the semis and volition springiness herself a coagulated accidental if she's landing her serve, but Sabalenka is the champion subordinate successful the world, and portion she doesn't ever win her finals, we'll accidental she takes this one.

Hamilton: Okay truthful everybody has gone with Sabalenka. So to beryllium contrary, it's Gauff's time. I retrieve sitting successful her post-match property league aft she mislaid the rubric to Swiatek successful 2022. She was devastated, but determination was besides this quiescent resoluteness that if she got the accidental again, she wouldn't fto it slip. Rhyme and crushed accidental this is Sabalenka's title, but the unquantifiable prime of Gauff's quiescent resoluteness volition sway this rubric successful her favor. She simply has to onshore those archetypal serves, and not fto Sabalenka get a foothold. If she comes retired of the blocks flying, past it's Gauff's title.