The morning after: Gauff's uplifting message to fans after French Open win

Coco Gauff paraded her Roland Garros trophy in Paris, sporting Miu Miu attire. In a touching Instagram post, she reflected on overcoming doubt to achieve her dreams, inspiring fans with a message of resilience and perseverance.

Newly-crowned Roland Garros champion Coco Gauff took the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen for a stroll in Paris on Sunday, showing off the newest addition to her trophy case to thousands of adoring fans on the Place de la Concorde.

Having recently teamed with the Italian fashion label Miu Miu for an exclusive on-court collaboration, Gauff also leveled up her off-court fashion for the accompanying commemorative photo shoot. Having worn dresses from the brand off-court previously, including two custom gowns when she attended the Oscars in Los Angeles this spring and a glittering gold gown for her April 2024 Vogue cover shoot, she opted for an elevated casual look to celebrate her second Grand Slam singles title.

Looking cool as she posed with the Eiffel Tower in the distance, Gauff dressed in a white cotton shirt with an embroidered double collar and a suede lambskin skirt with a tonal belt; completed the look with a custom navy blue blouson jacket; and donned her custom Miu Miu x New Balance 530 SL sneakers in a black, white and gum-soled colorway.

But high fashion wasn't all that was on show. Gauff's trophy shoot came with an uplifting message to fans on social media, as the magnitude of her triumph only continued to sink in in the hours after the match. In a heartfelt Instagram post, she spoke about overcoming doubts -- saying that the Gauff of three years ago who lost the French Open final to Iga Swiatek would love to see her now.

"Losing in the finals here three years ago had created a lot of doubt in my head," Gauff wrote. "I thought I could never overcome the pressure; I thought holding this trophy would never happen. I thought my dreams were so close to happening but would never come true. So to be here …. means absolutely everything.

"The more I started to dig deeper into my thoughts, I realized deep down I didn’t truly believe any of those thoughts ... The younger Coco would have looked at me crazy because that girl never doubted a thing in her life, especially when it came to tennis. But needless to say, I learned having doubt enter your head is impossible to escape but not impossible to overcome.

"Yesterday was a result of that. I overcame … and if I can, so can you."

Gauff is the first American woman to win the clay-court major since Serena Williams in 2015.

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