The 19-year-old, who is currently ranked number 1 in womens doubles also made it as far as the quarterfinals in this years womens doubles alongside Jessica Pegula.
“It means so much to me,” Gauff said.
“I feel like Im a little bit in shock in this moment. That French Open loss was a heartbreak for me, but I realized God puts you through tribulations and trials, and that makes this moment even sweeter than I could imagine.”
“My dad took me to this tournament, sitting right there, watching Venus and Serena compete, so its really incredible to be here on this stage.”
This is a sort of redemption for the young American who made a first-round exit at Wimbledon a few weeks earlier.
After she shook hands with Sabalenka, she went to hug her family who were watching in the stands.
“Today was the first time I’ve ever seen my dad cry,” Gauff said.
“He doesn’t want me to tell y’all that, but he got caught in 4K. He thinks he’s so hard, but you know he’s not.
The match opened with Sabalenka breaking Gauff but the American managed to break the Belarusian three games later. She then kept up the pressure on Sabalenka in the third set.