The many lessons Aryna Sabalenka learned at Arthur Ashe Stadium finally paid off in the form of a U.S. Open victory.
Under the bright lights of the historic court where she had lost so many times before, Sabalenka proved she is the woman to beat, beating sixth-seeded American Jessica Pegula 7-5, 7-5 on Saturday to lift her first U.S. Open trophy.
Sabalenka, ranked second in the world, is eager to please the crowds in New York and at the US Open – this year she even tried to appease them by promising to “treat” them to drinks after her quarter-final – but she wants to win in Flushing even more.
Sabalenka collapsed to the court after the final point, lying on her back in her fuchsia dress and covering her face with emotion.
“I've thought so many times that I was so close to winning the U.S. Open title. It's always been a dream of mine,” said Sabalenka, who now has three Grand Slam titles and is the first woman to win the U.S. Open and Australian Open in the same year since Angelique Kerber in 2016. “To finally get this beautiful trophy in my hands means so much.”
But nothing was going to be easy for Sabalenka as Pegula was chasing her first Grand Slam title.
Sabalenka, expected to be a huge favorite going into the match, led 5-2 in the first set.
A number of unforced errors from Sabalenka meant Pegula could have won the next three games, but Sabalenka won the final two by 14 points to take the set.
Pegula played the best tennis of her career in the tournament and showed how much she's improved, which was on full display when she fell behind 0-3 in the second set on Saturday.
Pegula survived a break point on her own serve in the fourth game and then threatened to lead at 5-3 in the next five games before her serve faltered as she tried to even the match.
Sabalenka ultimately maintained her momentum, winning the final four games.
“Right now I'm just frustrated about the loss,” said Pegula, who won in Berlin and Toronto before losing to Sabalenka in the final in Cincinnati in August, the only blemish on the American's post-Olympic record.
“Everyone's like, 'Congratulations, what a great tournament!' and I'm like, 'Oh well.' So I think if I tone it down a little bit, I'll probably feel more grateful. [take it all in]Maybe I should do that someday.”
Sabalenka won 12 of 15 rallies of nine shots or more and held the advantage at the net, winning 18 of a possible 23 points, despite making 34 unforced errors to Pegula's 22.
Sabalenka's performance at this year's Open has not been exceptional.
Not only did Sabalenka drop just one set in the tournament, but she also had the fastest topspin forehand speed in both the men's and women's brackets at an average of 80 mph, effectively beating 2022 champion Carlos Alcaraz, 2023 champion Novak Djokovic and 2024 prospect and men's world No. 1 Jannik Sinner.
New York has beaten her down and spat her out in the past, but the 26-year-old said she always comes back for more.
Sabalenka was upset by the raucous Arthur Ashe crowd during her loss to Coco Gauff in last year's final.
She lost a 4-2 lead in the third set to eventual winner Iga Swiatek in the 2022 semifinals.
And the pressure of chasing a first Grand Slam title came back to haunt her in the 2021 semi-finals, where she was a heavy favorite to win but lost to eventual runner-up Leyla Fernandez.
“To be honest, I [would] “I think a lot about the last few years because I've learned a lot of hard lessons at the U.S. Open, especially last year,” she said. “Today I'm just reminding myself that this is the U.S. Open final, and of course she's going to fight hard for it, it's not going to be easy, and I'm going to have to work hard to win it too.”
“In those tough moments, I just tried to stay strong and tell myself that I've been through a lot and that I'm strong enough to handle this pressure.”
Despite years of losses of all kinds on the grounds of the historic Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, Sabalenka has not given up on a comeback.
Whether she was unprepared, overwhelmed by emotion or couldn't handle the pressure of the crowd, Sabalenka has come to terms with what gets in her way at every Open.
With each failure here she became more motivated, and with each passing year she chose to believe that maybe now was her time.
It finally happened.
The Queen of Queens of Belarus.
