How Aryna Sabalenka Won the U.S. Open After a Tough Year

Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus celebrates after defeating Jessica Pegula of the United States to win the Women's Singles Final on Day Thirteen of the 2024 US Open at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 07, 2024 in New York City. Credit - Luke Hales—Getty Images

Going up against an American player in a late-stage match at the U.S. Open is always a challenge. It’s one Aryna Sabalenka, the world No. 2 tennis player from Belarus, knows all too well. 

A year ago, against Coco Gauff in the U.S. Open final, the raucous pro-Gauff crowd in New York City got in Sabalenka’s head. The noise, she said before today’s final against another American, No. 6 ranked-Jessica Pegula, “was blocking my ears. So that was, like, so much pressure.”

This time around, rather than let the support for Pegula irk her, she tried embracing her status as a spoiler. With a tight-tense first set, for example, tied at 5-5, Sabalenka turned the tables, pumping her arms in the air after winning a point, as if to say, “Hey, all you supposed tennis fans, what about a little love for me?”

Sabalenka got brief roars of respect. Then the fans went back to pulling for Pegula.

In the end, that wasn’t enough. Sabalenka defeated Pegula in straight sets, 7-5, 7-5, to win her first U.S. Open title and the third major championship of her career (she’s the reigning back-to-back Australian Open champ). Stars like Stephen Curry, Laverne Cox, Lewis Hamilton, Flavor Flav, Noah Lyles, Maggie Gyllenhal, and John Krasinski all turned out for the Saturday late afternoon affair.

The victory for Sabalenka is particularly sweet this year, given how close she came to winning in New York City last season, and a difficult stretch of 2024 where she struggled with injury and personal loss.

In March her ex-boyfriend, Belarusian pro hockey player Konstantin Koltsov, died in Miami Beach; police ruled his death an apparent suicide. Sabalenka was in South Florida for the Miami Open at the time, and commented, “I am heartbroken.”

A stomach bug contributed to the end of her French Open and a shoulder injury prevented her from competing at Wimbledon. In an article published in The Guardian in August, Sabalenka said she wished she had taken a break after Koltsov’s death. “It was really emotional and really stressful, and kind of damaged my mental health at that point,” she said. “At the end I paid for my decision.”

In Saturday’s final, Sabalenka displayed all the qualities that make her one of the more compelling players on the planet. She’s fearless, often going for the big power shot when something softer will do: if she misses, she’ll just come back and try it again. "I know I have to go for it," says Sabalenka. "That's the only way it works for me."

She’s fun; her grunts are consistent on her shots, and one was so loud and off-key on Saturday, the Arthur Ashe Stadium fans all sort of giggled. After her quarterfinal victory, knowing she was playing another American, Emma Navarro, in the semis, she was asked on-court what she’d do to sway some support to her side.

“Drinks on me tonight?” Sabalenka replied.

She’s an unpredictable roller coaster, slamming her racket four times—bam, bam, bam, bam—on the court after an untimely double fault during that 5-5 first-set game. That mistake gave Pegula break point, and an opening to steal the set. Sabalenka could have melted down. Instead, she held that 14-point back-and-forth game, and broke Pegula’s serve to finish out the set.

In the second set, Sabalenka held on to her swagger. Pegula went up a break  and was serving at 5-4 to prolong the match. But Sabalenka played a beautiful first point, charging toward the net to chase down a tough Pegula drop shot, then hitting a jumping backhand volley that Pegula couldn’t handle. Sabalenka was moving with mojo, and this opening flourish set the tone for the game. Sabalenka toyed with the fans after winning the second point, motioning her hands for more noise. She broke Pegula with a nasty forehand winner—her average topspin forehand speed ranks higher than some of the world’s top men’s players—then waved for fans to stand up. Sabalenka’s triumph now seemed assured.

And indeed, she finished the job, holding serve and then, on her second championship point, smashing a slow ball that Pegula sent back long. Sabalenka collapsed, her back on the Arthur Ashe Stadium hard court, her hands covering her face.

"I was just so proud of myself, and proud of my team, that no matter what, we were able to come back strong, come back with better tennis," Sabalenka said afterwards. "I don't know how to describe that feeling. It's like you're crying, you're laughing, you just feel all this emotion at the same time. And that's the best feeling. I really wish everyone could experience that." She repeatedly called the U.S. Open trophy “beautiful”—winning it was a lifelong dream.

Until further notice, Sabalenka is the best hard court player in the world. Roars reigned down after she clinched the match, and as she held the trophy aloft at Arthur Ashe. This time, those prolonged roars lingered. And they’ll almost certainly be back.

Write to Sean Gregory at sean.gregory@time.com.