Top seed and defending champion Aryna Sabalenka pulled off a rare repeat on Saturday at the US Open, powering past American Amanda Anisimova, 6-3, 7-6(3), to become the first woman to win back-to-back singles titles in Flushing Meadows since Serena Williams in 2014.
In topping the eighth seed, Sabalenka notched her 100th career Grand Slam main-draw match victory, and upped her tour-leading win total to 56 on the year. After unsuccessful finals this year at the Australian Open and Roland Garros, the reigning No. 1 finally has her first major trophy of 2025, and the fourth of her career.
Anisimova has now come up short in consecutive Grand Slam finals, having earlier fallen to Iga Swiatek, 6-0, 6-0, at Wimbledon.
Sabalenka fell to her knees on championship point, the emotion, the relief on display for all to see.
“I think because of the finals earlier this season, this one felt different,” she said. “This one felt like I had to overcome a lot of things to get this one. I knew that with the hard work we put in, like, I deserved to have a Grand Slam title this season. When I fell, it was true emotions, because it means a lot to defend this title and to bring such great tennis on the court. And to bring the fight and be able to handle my emotions the way I did in this final, it means a lot. I’m super proud right now of myself.”
Anisimova, who came into the match with a 6-3 advantage in the head-to-heads, including a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 semifinal win in July en route to the Wimbledon final, matched her heavy-hitting opponent’s power from the start. But the nervy opener would feature a combined five breaks of serve, the fifth putting Sabalenka in a position to serve it out at 5-3. The 27-year-old didn’t waste the opportunity, sealing the 38-minute set when Anisimova sent a forehand wide.
Sabalenka is a true frontrunner at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. She was 27-2 at the US Open after winning the first set. But serving for the match at 5-4, she would dump a seemingly routine overhead into the net at 30-all. Anisimova made the most of the resulting break point and went on to force a tiebreak. That’s where the veteran Sabalenka showed her cool, serving it out on her third championship point.
“She came out, and she was playing great tennis from the start,” said Anisimova. “She’s No. 1, and she’s very capable of playing amazing tennis, which she did today. I give all the credit to her.”
Despite the loss, Anisimova is projected to make her Top-5 debut in the PIF WTA Rankings.
Seated atop the PIF WTA Rankings for the past 46 weeks, Sabalenka confessed that her year would feel incomplete without one of the sport’s four biggest prizes. She can put those concerns behind her now, the winner of two titles at each of the hard-court majors—the Australian Open (2023-24) and US Open (2024-25).
Courtesy of the US Open.
