NEW YORK – Aryna Sabalenka defeated Jessica Pegula 7-5, 7-5 in a thrilling US Open women’s final on Saturday to win her first Flushing Meadows title and the third Grand Slam title of her career.
Sabalenka, a 26-year-old Belarusian, adds this trophy to the two she has won at the Australian Open in each of the past two seasons, also on hard court. She is the fifth woman to win the Australian Open and the US Open in the same year since 1988, when the Australian major switched to hard court.
With the win, she left Arthur Ashe Stadium in a much better mood than when she finished second behind Coco Gauff at the 2023 US Open. Sabalenka is the first woman since Serena Williams in 2012 to win the US Open after losing in the final the previous year.
No. 6 seed Pegula, a 30-year-old New York native whose parents own the NFL’s Buffalo Bills and the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres, was in the first Grand Slam final of her career. She had been losing 6-0 in major tournament quarterfinals until she eliminated No. 1 seed Iga Swiatek in this round on Wednesday.
She has won 15 of her last 17 matches over the past month, but both losses came against Sabalenka in the tournament final.
No. 2 seed Sabalenka seemed to be in full control as she won five games in a row, winning the first set and taking a 3-0 lead in the second before No. 6 seed Pegula made things more exciting. In the next game, Pegula dropped a point and showed her frustration by hitting a ball off the video board behind the baseline, dislodging a small square board in the process.
Perhaps that eased some of the tension for the 30-year-old American, because suddenly Pegula broke through and took advantage of her own five-game run. But when she served at 5-4 and had a chance to force a third set, Pegula let Sabalenka level the second set with a break.
This was part of a three-game comeback by Sabalenka that won the match. Shortly after, she collapsed on the court, dropping her racket and covering her face with both arms as she lay on her back.
Sabalenka closes the Grand Slam calendar having won 37 of the 40 sets she has played at Majors this season (92.5%), the highest percentage of sets won by a woman at Majors in a year since Justine Henin in 2007 (minimum 30 sets played).
The title match was played under a closed roof at Arthur Ashe Stadium after rain the previous Saturday. Among the spectators were Stephen Curry, Noah Lyles, Lewis Hamilton, Tina Fey, Anna Wintour and Andy Roddick, the last American to win a major.
ESPN Stats & Information and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
