How a year of growth led to Sabalenka’s US Open victory

During the thrilling first set of the US Open final on Saturday, Aryna Sabalenka had at least a dozen opportunities to lose the win.

For example, the ridiculously bad drop shot that only earned her a grimace and a funny face. Or the double fault that caused her to (slightly) tap her racket on the baseline. Another double fault when she redirected Jessica Pegula’s return with a ballermann-like tap with her right foot. The 19-stroke rally – the first of five set points – that ended with a backhand in the net.

A year ago, Sabalenka might have imploded after a loss to Coco Gauff in the final, throwing pieces of her broken racket in the trash. But the current, 26-year-old version is a different story entirely. Sabalenka played a stunningly complete game that would terrify even the most experienced players on the Hologic WTA Tour, and converted the ball in the fifth set with another deft drop shot that Pegula couldn’t reach.

The same thing happened again in the second set, when Pegula won five games in a row – and Sabalenka began to mentally prepare for a third set. But composure prevailed and Sabalenka won 7-5, 7-5 in Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Here are some key takeaways from the final match of the 2024 Grand Slam season:

Resilience ultimately prevails

Despite all this, Sabalenka never stopped swinging.

“I know I have to try,” Sabalenka told reporters afterward. “It’s the only way it works for me. Every time I stop my arms and the ball flies into the stands – so long ago I decided for myself that in these important moments I just have to try, I have to swing.”

“If I swing to the end without stopping my arms, I know the ball is going in, and that’s the only option for me, so to speak.”

This makes Sabalenka the only woman to have won two Grand Slams this year. This puts her on a par with Carlos Alcaraz and possibly Jannik Sinner. She and Angelique Kerber (2016) are the only two women to have won the major season in the last 27 years.

Sabalenka, who missed Wimbledon due to injury and decided to skip the Olympics to concentrate on hard court, is in top form. This was her^th consecutive wins on American hard courts.

Hunt for No. 1

Sabalenka’s record at the 2024 Grand Slams was a sparkling 18-1 – and she hasn’t played at Wimbledon. Despite winning three of the last eight majors, Sabalenka remains No. 2 in the PIF WTA rankings.

Currently.

So get ready, tennis fans.

The Grand Slam season may be over, but for the second year in a row the top spot is at stake. Sabalenka, who held the top spot for eight weeks last year, has collected 3,000 points in less than three weeks.

The PIF race to the WTA finals in Riyadh: No. 1 Iga Swiatek leads with 8,285 points, Sabalenka follows with 7,876. In the next two months, the Asian tour will feature four WTA tour tournaments at 500 level and two 1000 level tournaments in Beijing and Wuhan. That’s 4,000 race points.

“To be honest, I’m not focused on the rankings,” Sabalenka said. “I try to focus only on myself and I know that if I can play my best tennis at every tournament and bring that fighting spirit to every match, I can become world No. 1 again.”

Power meets precision

For Sabalenka, it starts with the serve. She and Pegula both won 65 percent of their first serves, but Sabalenka was twice as good on the second ones – 14 of 33 (.424) to Pegula’s 6 of 28 (.214).

Sabalenka’s forehand – her average speed was higher than that of any other player playing here – is what’s making headlines. In fact, Sabalenka hit 40 winners (with 34 unforced errors) and scored 205 in the tournament – an impressive average of 29 per game.

“It’s really good to have those options in your pocket,” she said. “You feel like, ‘OK, sometimes you don’t feel so comfortable on the baseline and you can just try a slice or drop shot or go to the net.’

“I’ve always worked on this variation on the pitch. I’m really happy that I’m brave enough to use these tools in key moments.”

In elite society

With her third major title, she overtakes five other well-known active players: Svetlana Kuznetsova, Victoria Azarenka, Petra Kvitova, Simona Halep and Barbora Krejcikova.

The balance of the players who did not retire: Venus Williams (7), Iga Swiatek (5), Naomi Osaka (4), Sabalenka (3).

“I don’t know how to describe this feeling,” Sabalenka said. “You cry, you laugh, you just feel all these emotions at the same time. It’s the best feeling.”

“I really wish everyone could experience this.”

The real story? Sabalenka has brought new elements to her game. She follows that power and depth to the net. She won 18 of 23 points on offense against Pegula, a game reminiscent of 18-time major winner Martina Navratilova, who came to the fore as a striker.

In fact, Sabalenka is the only player in the Open Era, along with Navratilova, Steffi Graf, Martina Hingis, Monica Seles and Victoria Azarenka, to have reached the finals of four consecutive Grand Slam hard court tournaments.