Aryna Sabalenka defeated Jessica Pegula 7-5, 7-5 on Saturday to win her first US Open and third major championship.
Aryna Sabalenka got past Jessica Pegula 7-5, 7-5 in a rollicking US Open women’s final Saturday to win her first championship at Flushing Meadows and third Grand Slam title of her career.
Sabalenka, a 26-year-old from Belarus, adds this trophy to the two she earned at the Australian Open Open each of the past two seasons, also on hard courts. She is the fifth different woman to win the Australian Open and US Open in the same year since 1988, when the Australian major switched to hardcourt.
The victory allowed Sabalenka to leave Arthur Ashe Stadium in a far better mood than when she was the runner-up to Coco Gauff at the 2023 US Open. She is the first woman since Serena Williams in 2012 to win the US Open after losing in the final the previous year.
“I’m speechless right now”, Sabalenka, who had reached at least the semifinal stage at Flushing Meadows each of the past four years, said during the on-court trophy presentation.
