World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka retained her US Open crown with a battling 6-3, 7-6 (3) win over American eighth seed Amanda Anisimova in the US Open women’s final on Saturday, underlining her claim as the modern queen of the hardcourt.
The Belarusian has not missed a hardcourt major final since 2022 and her latest trophy brings her grand slam haul to four, as she became the first woman to win back-to-back US Opens since Serena Williams claimed three straight from 2012 to 2014.
The clash between two of tennis’s hardest-hitting, biggest-serving women boiled down to unforced errors as Sabalenka kept them to 15, compared to 29 from the racket of her opponent.
“I want to thank everyone who came here, who flew in to be there in my box,” said Sabalenka, who fell to her knees after clinching victory with an unreturnable serve and embraced her coaches in the stands in a scene of utter joy.
“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.”
Playing in only her second major final, New Jersey-born Anisimova had the partisan fans at the famed Arthur Ashe Stadium on her side but could never hang onto themomentum.
“It’s been a great summer, losing in two finals in a row is great, but it’s also super hard,” said 24-year-old Anisimova, who was beaten 6-0, 6-0 in the Wimbledon final two months ago.
“I didn’t fight hard enough for my dreams.”
‘Storm’ after rain
Ticket-toting fans ducked a sudden downpour at Flushing Meadows that forced organisers to put on the retractable roof at Ashe, where the usual array of A-listers packed the stands.
The rain slowed down as the players warmed up and Sabalenka brought a perfect storm of tenacious tennis to her opponent.
In a see-saw first set, the tiger-tattooed Belarusian had the last laugh when she closed out the first set with an unreturnable serve. That was after quite a few breaks and counter-breaks of serve.
In the second set, Sabalenka, 27, broke Anisimova early. But Anisimova refused to give up as she levelled it in the sixth with a backhand winner of her own, whipping the fans into a frenzy.
But the American party ended abruptly as their home hope sent the ball into the net on break point in the seventh.
Anisimova stayed in it as Sabalenka helped her break back with a flubbed smash in the 10th game, but buckled to the Belarusian’s power in the tiebreak, where Sabalenka sprinted through to triumph.
Sabalenka claimed her 100th grand slam match win with the victory and slapped her trainer’s bald head in what has now become a traditional celebration for the twice Australian Open winner before offering her opponent heartfelt praise. “I know it hurts but girl, when you win your first one — and you are going to win it — you will realise that all the tough lessons are worth it,” said Sabalenka.
Anisimova will move up to fourth in the rankings with her US Open run.
With inputs from Reuters