Sabalenka wins the title · tennisnet.com

Aryna Sabalenka Won the 2024 US Open. Jessica Pegula fought bravely in the women’s final and held up better than many expected. But in the end, Sabalenka triumphed 7:5, 7:5 against the American.

Aryna Sabalenka fell on her back in the roaring Arthur Ashe Stadium and cheered: The 26-year-old from Belarus has completed her personal hard court double and followed up her successful title defense in Melbourne with a coup at the US Open. The world number two won the final in New York on Saturday evening with 7:5, 7:5 against local hero Jessica Pegula and lived up to her role as tournament favorite.

Sabalenka, for whom this is her third major triumph, is the first fifth player to win the trophies in Australia and the USA in one season. Previously, Steffi Graf (1988, 89) and Angelique Kerber (2016) had also achieved this feat. Pegula, who made it past the quarterfinals at a major for the first time, will have to wait for a major coup.

Forget defeat against Coco Gauff in 2023

Last year, Sabalenka had already reached for the title in New York, but suffered a surprise defeat in the final against Coco Gauff and then took out her frustration on her racket in the dressing room. Now, as she did recently in Cincinnati, she prevailed in the duel between the two hard court specialists. The men’s final will be contested on Sunday evening (8 p.m./Sky and Sportdeutschland.TV) by the Italian world number one Jannik Sinner and the American Taylor Fritz.

Sabalenka had caused a stir in the run-up to the final with a statistic: her whipped forehand was measured as the fastest of the tournament – for both men and women. At 129 kilometers per hour, she also outdid the men’s stars Carlos Alcaraz (127 km/h) and Jannik Sinner (126 km/h). And Sabalenka also used her signature shot against Pegula, who, with the support of the crowd, had big plans.

Celebrity crowd in New York at the finale

At 30 years and 196 days old, she wanted to be the first third player to win her first Grand Slam tournament over the age of 30 since the introduction of professional tennis in 1968. Previously, Ann Jones had succeeded in Wimbledon in 1969 and Flavia Pennetta in New York in 2015. But it wasn’t enough.

The US hopeful, whose father Terry Pegula owns the NFL team Buffalo Bills and the NHL franchise Buffalo Sabres, said she felt “pretty good” before the first serve and resolved not to let her emotions get the better of her in the special atmosphere. A lot of stars such as US basketball player Stephen Curry, Formula 1 icon Lewis Hamilton and Olympic sprint champion Noah Lyles also watched in the legendary arena and saw a high-class match.

Pegula started stronger and gave Sabalenka a powerful exchange of blows from the baseline. Then the Belarusian turned up the heat and took control, but towards the end of the first set she showed nerves again. Sabalenka was able to let her arm run even more, feeling that she had achieved an interim victory. But Pegula came back again, but could not prevent the painful defeat.

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