Aryna Sabalenka walked into Arthur Ashe Stadium with the weight of a season’s heartbreak on her shoulders. She walked out a champion once again. The world No. 1 silenced 24,000 fans and her own doubts with a gripping 6-3, 7-6(3) win over Amanda Anisimova to defend her US Open crown.
For Sabalenka, this was about more than silverware. After painful losses in the Australian Open and French Open finals, plus a semifinal defeat at Wimbledon, her year teetered on the edge of frustration. On Saturday night in New York, she rewrote the narrative, becoming the first woman since Serena Williams a decade ago to retain the title at Flushing Meadows.
The final was a battle of raw power. Both players traded blows in a match that mixed brilliance with nerves. Sabalenka twice broke Anisimova in the second set and was serving for the match at 5-4, only to net an overhead that left her gasping in disbelief. For a moment, old scars threatened to resurface.
Instead, she steadied herself. “OK, it happens. It’s in the past. Let’s focus on the next one,” she told herself. That reset proved decisive. In the tiebreak, Sabalenka dominated, sealing victory on her third match point before collapsing to her knees in tears.
Her triumph carried historic weight. The 27-year-old is now a four-time major champion, all won on hard courts since 2023. She avoided the unwanted record of becoming the first woman since Justine Henin in 2006 to lose three Slam finals in one season.
Anisimova, meanwhile, left with both heartbreak and pride. Playing in her second straight major final, the 24-year-old admitted the bright lights disrupted her serve but credited Sabalenka’s aggression. “She was playing very aggressive and doing all the right things, so she made it very difficult for me today,” Anisimova said.
The American’s rise remains one of tennis’s feel-good stories. Less than two years after stepping away from the sport for mental health reasons, she has returned to reach major finals at Wimbledon and the US Open. Her run included wins over Naomi Osaka and Iga Swiatek, lifting her to a career-high No. 4 in the rankings.
Sabalenka’s team, with new input from Max Mirnyi, has worked to channel her fiery emotions into controlled power. That balance was on display under Ashe’s roof. This win wasn’t just a title, it was proof that she can endure the storms and emerge stronger.
 win over Amanda Anisimova, clinching her fourth Grand Slam title in New York.){kind=link}