Aryna Sabalenka solidified her status as the modern queen of hardcourt tennis by successfully defending her US Open title with a hard-fought 6-3, 7-6(3) victory over American eighth seed Amanda Anisimova on Saturday. The world number one from Belarus has now appeared in every hardcourt major final since 2022. With this win, she captured her fourth Grand Slam title and became the first woman to win back-to-back US Opens since Serena Williams achieved a three-peat from 2012 to 2014.
The final, featuring two of the game’s most powerful hitters, was ultimately decided by consistency. Sabalenka’s superior control proved the difference, as she committed a mere 15 unforced errors compared to Anisimova’s 29. An emotional Sabalenka fell to her knees after clinching the match with an unreturnable serve, later thanking her team and declaring, “I’m going to reach a lot more finals and I don’t care where you are in the world, I want you in my box.”
For Anisimova, the loss marked a painful repeat of her straight-sets defeat in the Wimbledon final just two months prior. Playing in only her second major final, the 24-year-old struggled to maintain momentum despite the support of the partisan New York crowd. A visibly emotional Anisimova acknowledged the bittersweet nature of her achievement, stating, “It’s been a great summer, losing in two finals in a row is great but it’s also super hard,” adding, “I didn’t fight hard enough for my dreams today.”
The match began under a closed roof at Arthur Ashe Stadium due to a sudden downpour, but Sabalenka quickly brought her own storm of tenacious tennis. After saving three break points in a nervy opening game, she capitalized on Anisimova’s errors to secure an early break. Though the American briefly fought back to take a lead, Sabalenka tuned out the pro-Anisimova crowd and pounced on her opportunities, breaking her opponent twice more to seize control of the first set and never truly relenting.
