A year ago, Aryna Sabalenka left New York disappointed to be the US Open runner-up. But after a roller-coaster 12 months, she earned the title that had eluded her on Saturday.
As the crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium cheered wildly, Aryna Sabalenka put her head down and walked to her chair.
Coco Gauff was lying on the court with her head in her hands, celebrating her first major title, and Sabalenka was left to wonder how she had lost in the final at the 2023 US Open, after winning the first set 6-2. She was gracious on the court in defeat, praising Gauff and smiling for photos, but when Sabalenka left the court, she slammed her racket on the floor several times in the player gym before putting it into the trash can.
When she spoke to reporters later, Sabalenka vowed the disappointing loss would only help her in the future.
“It’s [a] lesson for me”, she said. “I will learn and then come back stronger.”
On Saturday, 364 days and a roller coaster of a season later, the 26-year-old Sabalenka made good on her promise, as she defeated Jessica Pegula 7-5, 7-5 to claim the 2024 US Open title. It was Sabalenka’s third major title overall — and she became the first woman to hoist the US Open trophy after losing in the final the previous year since Serena Williams in 2012.
This time when the match was over, it was Sabalenka with her head in her hands as she fell to the court. The only racket smash had happened during a tense moment late in the first set, and this time the tears running down her face were those of joy.
She couldn’t help but think about her 2023 heartbreak, as well as her 2021 and 2022 semifinal defeats, after the match.
“I just remember all those tough losses here at the US Open, and they say that you’re going to see the reason later and I see the reason right now”, Sabalenka said on the ESPN broadcast after the trophy ceremony. “I had to go through this stuff, [and] tough lessons to be able to hold this beautiful trophy, and now I think I’m the happiest person in the world right now.”
One of the best players on tour on the hard court, Sabalenka started 2024 much like her 2023 season had begun — with an Australian Open title. And while her 2023 victory in Melbourne for the first major title of her career had been a three-set battle with Elena Rybakina, this year, Sabalenka made quick work of Qinwen Zheng, 6-3, 6-2 for the title. Zheng admitted she had been overwhelmed by Sabalenka’s level of play and trademark power.
“She’s a really aggressive player”, Zheng said later. “If you let a chance go [against her], it will happen like today.”
It also marked Sabalenka’s sixth consecutive major in which she reached the semifinals or further, and it seemed like Sabalenka would remain one of the most consistent and dominant players in the new season.
Then tragedy struck.
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Just days before she was slated to start play at the Miami Open in March, Sabalenka’s former partner Konstantin Koltsov, a retired professional hockey player, died after an apparent suicide while staying in a nearby hotel.
