Aryna Sabalenka outplays Jessica Pegula to win long-awaited first US Open final
By Mollie Walker,
2024-09-07
The many lessons Aryna Sabalenka has learned inside Arthur Ashe Stadium finally culminated in a U.S. Open crown.
Under the bright lights of the historic court that has seen her fall short many times before, Sabalenka proved she was the woman to beat in the tournament and gutted out a 7-5, 7-5 victory over No. 6-seeded American Jessica Pegula on Saturday to hoist her first ever U.S. Open trophy.
The world No. 2 has longed to endear herself to New York and the U.S. Open crowd — even trying to appease spectators by promising drinks “on her” after the quarterfinals this year — but Sabalenka has longed for the title in Flushing even more.
Aryna Sabalenka celebrates during her U.S. Open championship win over Jessica Pegula at Arthure Ashe Stadium on Sept. 7, 2024. Jason Szenes for New York Post
Collapsing to the court after the final point, Sabalenka lay on her back in her fuchsia outfit, covering her face as the emotion flooded out of her.
“So many times I thought I was so close to get to U.S. Open title, always been a dream of mine,” said Sabalenka, who has now won three Grand Slams and is the first woman to capture the U.S. Open and Australian Open in the same year since Angelique Kerber in 2016. “Finally, I got this beautiful trophy, it means a lot.”
With Pegula on the other side chasing her own first Grand Slam, however, nothing came easily for Sabalenka.
Heavily favored in the matchup, Sabalenka jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the first set.
Aryna Sabalenka prepares to hit a backhand during her U.S. Open championship win over Jessica Pegula. Jason Szenes for New York Post
A slew of unforced errors from Sabalenka may have allowed Pegula to take the next three games, but Sabalenka managed to grind out the final two 14-point games to take the set.
Pegula showed off just how far she’s come by playing some of the best tennis of her career in this tournament, but it was on full display when she fell into a 3-0 hole in the second set on Saturday.
After surviving a break point on her serve in the fourth game, Pegula took the next five games to threaten with a 5-3 lead before her serve faltered while trying to even the match.
Sabalenka finally held and rode that momentum through the last four games to capture the win.
“I’m just annoyed that I lost right now,” said Pegula, who won titles in Berlin and Toronto before losing to Sabalenka in their previous meeting in the final in Cincinnati in August — the only blemish on the American’s post-Olympic record.
“Everyone’s like, ‘Oh congrats, amazing tournament!’ And I’m like, ‘Eh, whatever.’ So I think maybe once I do suppress a little bit, I’m sure I will be a little more appreciative and [take it all in]. I should probably do that at some point.”
Despite hitting 34 unforced errors compared to Pegula’s 22, Sabalenka won 12 of the 15 rallies of nine-plus shots and dominated at the net for 18 of a possible 23 points.
It was not an outlier performance from Sabalenka at the Open this year.
Jessica Pegula returns a volley against Aryna Sabalenka during her loss in the U.S. Open final. Jason Szenes for New York Post
Not only did she lose just a single set in the tournament, but Sabalenka also sported the fastest average topspin forehand speed of both the men’s and women’s brackets at 80-mph. That effectively beat out 2022 winner Carlos Alcaraz, 2023 winner Novak Djokovic and 2024 hopeful and men’s world No. 1 Jannik Sinner.
New York has chewed up Sabalenka and spit her out in the past — and yet, the 26-year-old said she’ll always come back for more.
Sabalenka was rattled by a raucous Arthur Ashe crowd in her loss to Coco Gauff in the finals last year.
She blew a 4-2 third-set lead to eventual champion Iga Swiatek in the semifinals in 2022.
And the pressure of chasing her first Grand Slam title got to her in the 2021 semifinals, when she lost to eventual runner-up Leylah Fernandez despite being the favorite by a considerable margin.
“Honestly, I thought that I [would] be thinking a lot about previous years here, because I had a lot of tough lessons here, the U.S. Open, very difficult ones, I would say, especially the last year,” she said. “Today I just keep reminding myself that this is the U.S. Open final, of course she’s going to fight really hard for it and it’s not going to be easy, and I have to work really hard to get it.
“In those tough moments, I was just trying to stay strong and trying to remind myself that I have been through a lot and I’m strong enough to hold under this pressure”
Losing in all the ways that she has over the years on the historic Billie Jean King National Tennis Center grounds has never deterred Sabalenka from returning.
Whether she wasn’t ready, or let her emotions get the best of her, or couldn’t handle the pressure from the crowd, Sabalenka had come to terms with what had gotten in her way each time at the Open.
She only grew more motivated with every failure here, choosing to believe year after year that it could be her time.
It finally is.
The Belarusian Queen of Queens.
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