Aryna Sabalenka retained her US Open title with a 6-3, 7-6 (3) victory over Amanda Anisimova in Saturday’s women’s singles final at Flushing Meadows, becoming the first player since Serena Williams to win the championship in consecutive years.
The world number one collected the fourth Grand Slam crown of her career, all on hard courts, after a contest that mixed dominant hitting with late drama. Sabalenka twice led by a break in the second set and served for the match at 5-4, only to falter with a missed overhead that allowed Anisimova to break back and extend the battle.
The American, playing in her first US Open final, drew loud support from the 24,000 spectators inside Arthur Ashe Stadium. But Sabalenka regained her composure in the tie-break, sealing victory on her third match point before falling to her knees in relief.
The result avoided a third Grand Slam final defeat of the year for the 27-year-old Belarusian, who was runner-up to Madison Keys at the Australian Open and to Coco Gauff at Roland Garros, while losing to Anisimova at Wimbledon.
For Anisimova, the defeat marked progress in a resurgent season. The 24-year-old had lost her maiden major final at Wimbledon in July without winning a game against Iga Swiatek, but recovered strongly in New York, including a quarter-final victory over the Pole.
Saturday’s match was played under the closed roof of Arthur Ashe Stadium after rain in New York, creating ideal conditions for two of the game’s biggest hitters. Both players struck with power throughout, producing exchanges that drew gasps from the crowd.
Anisimova recovered from an early break to lead 3-2 in the opening set before Sabalenka seized control with four straight games. The second set was more finely balanced, but Anisimova’s error count — 12 in the first two games alone — proved costly against an opponent of Sabalenka’s consistency.
Sabalenka’s triumph confirms her status at the top of the women’s game, while Anisimova’s run underlines her emergence as a renewed force at the highest level.
