Aryna Sabalenka is the new champion of the US Open. A second consecutive title for the world number 1 in New York, again against an American and ending the year in the Grand Slam tournaments in style. But how did the representative of Belarus actually manage to put the disappointment of the lost final at Flushing Meadows in 2023 behind her to grab two consecutive trophies on American soil?

In a title dispute two years ago, Sabalenka faced Coco Gauff. That year in 2023, Aryna had won her debut trophy in the Slam at the Australian Open against Elena Rybakina after a three-set turnaround. Sabalenka already knew what it was like to be a champion in the Grand Slam tournaments when she took the court against home favorite Gauff. But in the end, she couldn’t cope and lost after a turnaround – 6-2, 3-6, 2-6. Then the Belarusian gave in to emotions in the second and third sets and collapsed under the constant support of the American audience for Gauff. However, two years in a row, in the biggest and most important match, she was far calmer and more emotionally controlled, to overcome Jessica Pegula and now Amanda Anisimova in succession.

Without a doubt, both of her triumphs at the US Open are impressive, but let’s actually look at how valuable the current one against Anisimova is. Sabalenka has been playing strongly in the Slam all year, failing to reach the final only at Wimbledon, where she was stopped by...Anisimova. Earlier in the season, however, Aryna lost in the title matches in Melbourne and Paris, respectively, to Madison Keys and Gauff. In both finals, Sabalenka showed some of her old weaknesses – the main one being losing control at key points. That’s how Keys lifted the title in Australia, and a few months later, Gauff took advantage of the world number one’s huge number of unforced errors to win her second Slam title.

Sabalenka’s tension before the final against Anisimova, against the backdrop of those two consecutive lost battles for the trophy, was there. However, the Belarusian responded to that tension with a three-set victory in the semifinals against Pegula in a repeat of last year’s title dispute, and then with a two-set win over Anisimova. The second set went to Sabalenka after a tiebreak – her 19th consecutive tiebreak won, demonstrating how much more resilient she is now. The victory over the American, who failed in her second consecutive Slam final after Wimbledon, was at number 100 in the main draw of the Grand Slam tournaments for Sabalenka. What a way for her to celebrate it – with her fourth Slam title.

The statistics are an interesting thing. Sabalenka has three consecutive finals in Australia and three consecutive in the USA, with her balance being 2-1. The only difference is that in Melbourne she wins two consecutive finals and loses the third, and in New York it is the opposite – she loses the first and wins the last two. The Belarusian has already demonstrated that she can play strongly at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, although there is still no final in London – three 1/2-finals in a year for Aryna. In 2021, 2023 and 2025.

On May 5, Sabalenka turned 27. She is entering her prime and has already proven that she can not only reach the finals of the Slam, but also win them. The competition for the world number 1 is there – tennis players like Iga Swiatek, Gauff, Pegula, Jasmine Paolini, Qinwen Zheng and Rybakina are capable of defeating Sabalenka at major tournaments. But the same goes for Aryna herself, who can defeat anyone, regardless of the competition and the stakes. The end of the year was successful for her, and now she has one of her favorite tournaments in Melbourne ahead, where she will chase a third title in the last four editions. Hardly anyone is betting against Sabalenka anymore and the way she overcame the disappointment of losing the US Open final two years ago only proves that many more Grand Slam titles await her in the future. | BGNES

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Stefan Ignatov, BGNES Sports Department