US Open | Aryna Sabalenka triumphs in New York

Some athletes are built to rise to the occasion in big moments.

Aryna Sabalenka proved for the third time in her Grand Slam career on Saturday that she belongs in that group by beating Jessica Pegula in two identical sets 7-5 in the final of the US Open.

With two consecutive titles in Australia in 2023 and 2024, Sabalenka was determined to take her revenge in New York, a year after her defeat in the final against Coco Gauff. At the end of her defeat against the young American, the Belarusian could not contain her tears. She had even violently smashed two rackets on her return to the locker room.

This time, against another American, the blue, white and red confetti of the Arthur Ashe court fell in her honor. Not only to highlight the coronation of a deserving champion, but to confirm Sabalenka’s domination on hard surfaces.

As some players have the ability to excel in the most tense moments, the second racket in the world ran away with the first set despite some tremors. Aggressive from the start, as we know her, Sabalenka disarmed Pegula.

The American showed signs of nervousness in her first Grand Slam final. The eventual champion strayed from her usual standards and Pegula failed to capitalize. Sabalenka’s backhand was off-kilter, her serve shaky and her concentration vulnerable.

And the more confidence Pegula gained, especially when she was waiting for her rival’s offerings with both feet firmly planted on the court in return for the second serve, the more Sabalenka showed signs of weakness. But on the last break of the set, when she finally converted her fifth opportunity, the experience and tenacity of the great Belarusian paid off.

History repeated itself in the second set. Pegula, much more insistent, shook Sabalenka. Although the New Yorker let the first three games slip away, she recovered by winning the next five by stealing her opponent’s serve twice. Buoyed by a stadium that wanted the local favorite to survive, Pegula brilliantly distanced herself from her opponent thanks to her service game. Nearly 70% of her first serves fell into play.

“I wasn’t there at all in the second set,” Sabalenka admitted after the match in the middle of the court.

Even though the champion conceded four years to her rival, she could claim a much more enviable tennis background. In the finals of four of the last eight major tournaments, the 26-year-old recovered from 5-3 down to win the last four games of the encounter. When Pegula returned a powerful attacking forehand behind Sabalenka’s baseline, the latter had finally accomplished her mission.

“I don’t know what to say. I’ve come close so many times before,” she admitted, just before being reminded that she had also pocketed the sum of 3.6 million US dollars.

Once in the stands, near her own, she did not hesitate to pat the head of her fitness trainer Jason Stacy. The renowned trainer sported a temporary tiger tattoo on his bald head, the same tattooed on the champion’s left forearm. A sign of strength and power that Sabalenka did not deny in the most significant match of her summer.

Another Sabalenka

Sabalenka won the U.S. title in the same manner she did in Australia.

Aggression, lots of unforced errors (34) and a huge number of winners (40). In fact, these kinds of statistics usually reveal very little about duels involving Sabalenka, because the narrative of her conquests is regularly disjointed, but often positive.

Especially since in a final where the winner only wins nine points more than her opponent, the data is either similar or not very representative of the degree of intensity of the match.

In Saturday’s match, however, the most decisive column is one that is usually given very little attention in the Belarusian’s matches: points won at the net.

In this final between two excellent backfield players whose generally well-defined patterns made them successful, the play in the upper part of the field made the difference between the victory of one and the defeat of the other.

In the first set, the formidable Sabalenka missed only one of her 13 net drives. More defensive in the second set, her forays into the service boxes were limited, but at the end of this match of 1 hour and 53 minutes, the winner converted 78% of her points at the net. Pegula, for her part, posted a success rate of 36%. The world number six player cracked at important moments. Offensive backhands that refused to cross, missed drop shots and faulty touches of balls offered some decisive break points to her opponent.

You also have to understand how unbearable the pressure must have been for Pegula. A native of New York State and now one of the faces of the resurgence of American tennis, Pegula had the odious task of defending the women’s title won by her compatriot Coco Gauff last year, and this, in her first major tournament final.

Queen on the surface

Having been smoking hot since the return of tournaments in North America, the winner of the National Bank Open in Toronto lost to Sabalenka two weeks ago in Cincinnati.

“It’s been an incredible month, despite a difficult start to the season,” Pegula acknowledged.

Only one player had played better than her on cement since the second half of the season on the surface and she beat her in a second straight tournament. “You’re probably the best hard court player on the planet,” Pegula confirmed, looking at Sabalenka.

This win against Pegula was his 30th^e in 36 hard-court clashes in 2024. With her twelfth consecutive victory, Sabalenka also became the first player since Angélique Kerber in 2016 to win the majors in Melbourne and New York in the same year.

Pegula will jump three places in the rankings to re-enter the world top three on Monday, but Sabalenka is still stuck in second place, just over 2,000 points behind Iga Swiatek.

Still, Sabalenka has no equal on the most used surface on the tour. She has lost just one set in the last three weeks, which includes the tournaments in Cincinnati and New York.

No heiress can claim the royal title by patiently waiting in the next chair for her accession to the throne. Especially when the Queen is in the midst of what promises to be a rather long reign. But all pretenders can dream, especially from a jungle like New York where all dreams can come true.