Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka (world number two) won the US Open tennis tournament for the first time on Saturday 7 September in New York, dominating the American Jessica Pegula in the final (7-5, 7-5). Sabalenka, 26, beaten last year in the final by Coco Gauff, won a third Grand Slam title after her success at the Australian Open in 2023 and 2024. She thus becomes the first player to win the two major tournaments played on hard courts in the same season since the German Angelique Kerber in 2016.
On a roofed Arthur-Ashe court to counteract the heavy rains that hit New York, the Belarusian managed to emerge first from a very tense first set, in which the two players took turns dominating and, at times, hitting their rackets on the ground in frustration.
Sabalenka quickly lost her serve (2-1 Pegula) before immediately breaking (2-2) and then flying (5-2) playing the lines with powerful shots.
The Belarusian then made too many unforced errors (23 in the first set alone, 34 in total), allowing her opponent to get back to 5-5. At 6-5 for Sabalenka, Pegula saved four set points on her serve before collapsing in the face of a soft ball from her opponent.
A game full of twists and turns
In a similar vein, the second set saw several turnarounds. Sabalenka initially led 3-0 and looked to be heading for the title by earning a break point, before Pegula rebelled. The American then found some colour, distributing the play perfectly, enough to score five consecutive games off Sabalenka’s errors to take a 5-3 lead. Unfortunately, the Belarusian proved too solid as the tension mounted.
Unsettled by the strong support of the American public for Coco Gauff last year, Sabalenka seemed to better control the Arthur-Ashe hype in favour of a new local player this time around. Jessica Pegula, who at 30 has reached the final of a major tournament for the first time, shone in Flushing Meadows, notably eliminating world number one Iga Swiatek of Poland in the quarter-finals. Her finish will propel her to third in the world on Monday, enough to equal her best ranking.
