Gauff is the first American player to lift the trophy since Serena Williams in 2015.
The second-ranked American dug deep to claim a 6-7 (5/7), 6-2, 6-4 victory and her second major title after also defeating Sabalenka at the 2023 US Open.
World number one Aryna Sabalenka battled past four-times champion Iga Swiatek to reach her first French Open final on Thursday with a 7-6(1) 4-6 6-0 victory that ended the Pole's reign in Paris and snapped her 26-game winning streak in the tournament.
The 21-year-old was the runner-up to Iga Swiatek in a one-sided showpiece match in 2022.
Reigning Madrid Open champion Iga Swiatek suffered a crushing semi-final defeat by Coco Gauff on Thursday, with the American triumphing 6-1, 6-1.
Coco Gauff said she was "disappointed but not completely crushed" after her scintillating start to the year came to an abrupt halt in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open on Tuesday.
Badosa reached a Slam semi-final for the first time in her career -- the first Spanish woman to do so since Garbine Muguruza at Melbourne in 2020.
Coco Gauff wrote "RIP TikTok USA" and drew a broken heart on a camera lens shortly after reaching the Australian Open quarter-finals on Sunday after the popular app used by 170 million Americans stopped working in the United States.
The 20-year-old's exit means Serena Williams remains the last woman to successfully defend the US Open title back in 2014.
Gauff is the first American player to lift the trophy since Serena Williams in 2015.
The second-ranked American dug deep to claim a 6-7 (5/7), 6-2, 6-4 victory and her second major title after also defeating Sabalenka at the 2023 US Open.
World number one Aryna Sabalenka battled past four-times champion Iga Swiatek to reach her first French Open final on Thursday with a 7-6(1) 4-6 6-0 victory that ended the Pole's reign in Paris and snapped her 26-game winning streak in the tournament.
The 21-year-old was the runner-up to Iga Swiatek in a one-sided showpiece match in 2022.
Reigning Madrid Open champion Iga Swiatek suffered a crushing semi-final defeat by Coco Gauff on Thursday, with the American triumphing 6-1, 6-1.
Coco Gauff said she was "disappointed but not completely crushed" after her scintillating start to the year came to an abrupt halt in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open on Tuesday.
Badosa reached a Slam semi-final for the first time in her career -- the first Spanish woman to do so since Garbine Muguruza at Melbourne in 2020.
Coco Gauff wrote "RIP TikTok USA" and drew a broken heart on a camera lens shortly after reaching the Australian Open quarter-finals on Sunday after the popular app used by 170 million Americans stopped working in the United States.
The 20-year-old's exit means Serena Williams remains the last woman to successfully defend the US Open title back in 2014.
Coco Gauff survived late-match drama to keep her US Open title defence alive with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory over Elina Svitolina on Friday.