US OPEN.Women´s single
Aryna Sabalenka retained her US Open crown with a 6-3, 7-6(3) win over American eighth seed Amanda Anisimova in the women’s final on Saturday, underlining her claim as the modern queen of the hardcourt.
The Belarusian has not missed a hardcourt major final since 2022. Her latest trophy brings her Grand Slam haul to four, as she becomes the first woman to win back-to-back US Opens since Serena Williams claimed three consecutive titles from 2012 to 2014.
The No. 1-ranked Sabalenka picked up the fourth Grand Slam title of her career, all on hard courts. This was not all smooth sailing, though.
Sabalenka twice led by a break in the second set, and served for the win at 5-4. But at 30-all, so close to the trophy, she had a chance to hit an overhead and get to match point. Instead, while backpedaling, Sabalenka put the ball into the net, giving Anisimova a break chance.“All those tough lessons [were] worth this one,” Sabalenka said. “I’m speechless right now.”
Sabalenka, a 27-year-old from Belarus, was the runner-up to Madison Keys at the Australian Open in January and to Coco Gauff at the French Open. Then, at Wimbledon in July, Sabalenka was eliminated by Anisimova.
That put Anisimova into her first major final, which she lost 6-0, 6-0 to Iga Swiatek.