Aryna Sabalenka won her first tournament victory at the US Open

Second attempt, first happy ending: Aryna Sabalenka won the US Open tennis tournament for the first time on Saturday. The world number two beat the number six seeded American Jessica Pegula 7-5, 7-5 in the final in Flushing Meadows on Saturday after 1 hour 53 minutes. For her, it was also a kind of revenge. In 2023, she had lost her own place in the final with Coco Gauff against a local hero 6-2, 3-6, 2-6.

Swiatek remains in first place

For Sabalenka, it was her first success at a Grand Slam tournament since the Australian Open, which she won in 2023 and this year. In the rankings, she will remain the first pursuer of Poland’s Iga Swiatek next week. Behind her, billionaire’s daughter Pegula will appear as the new third, despite her defeat in her major final debut. The 30-year-old lost in two sets to Sabalenka, as she did recently in the Cincinnati final, and is now 2-6 behind in the head-to-head.

“Oh my God, I’m just speechless,” was Sabalenka’s first reaction at the awards ceremony on the court. For the fourth time in a row, she was at least in the semifinals of the US highlight, and this time she was finally able to accept the trophy from the hands of the legendary Billie Jean King. “I thought about the title so often, came very close several times, which is why the victory means so much to me,” said the top player from Belarus.

Unlike last year, this time there were tears of joy. “It shows that if you work hard, your dreams will eventually come true. I am extremely proud of myself and my team,” said the 16-time WTA tournament winner.

Pegula thanks the fans

She told Pegula that she knew the feeling of losing a final here. “I know how hard it is, but one day you too will win one or more Grand Slam tournaments.” Pegula had hoped to win at least one set. “She is currently the best player in the world, her shots have so much power, she hardly gives you a chance. I am happy that I was always ready to fight back, but in the decisive moments I was not able to take advantage of my chances,” Pegula summed up. The support from the stands was “unbelievable.”

Pegula made a dream start with the roof closed, spurred on by the 24,000 fans in the Artur Ashe Stadium, breaking her opponent’s serve to make it 2-1. However, that was a wake-up call for the tournament’s number two, who was beaten back twice with breaks to 2-2 and 4-2. Pegula managed a rebreak to make it 4-5 and also had a break chance at 5-5, but she let it go in a marathon game. Pegula then made minor errors on her own serve, was able to fend off four set points, but not the fifth. Sabalenka had the better end in a set at an extremely high level – thanks in part to 25 winners.

The 26-year-old favorite took the momentum and seemed safe, leading 3-0 plus a break point. But Pegula made a strong comeback, just like in the semifinal against Karolina Muchova, with the only difference being that this time it was not rewarded. With five games in a row, the American made it 5-3, just as she was trying to catch up with Sabalenka, and laid the foundation for winning the second set with a rebreak.

Superstars in the stands

In front of many superstars, including Formula 1 record world champion Lewis Hamilton, Olympic sprint champion Noah Lyles and basketball superstar Stephen Curry, the two-time Australian Open winner converted her second match point after just under two hours and fell to the ground in relief. The triumph is also financially worthwhile for the first fifth player to win both hard court major tournaments in one year, as there is 3.6 million dollars (3.24 million euros) in prize money. Pegula receives half.

On Sunday there is the next chance for a US triumph, when local hero Taylor Fritz challenges the top seeded South Tyrolean Jannik Sinner. The doubles competition has already been decided. The Australian Wimbledon finalists Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson secured the title, winning the final against the Germans Kevin Krawietz and Tim Pütz 6:4, 7:6(4).