NEW YORK – After two disappointing finishes in this year’s major finals and equally devastating losses to Amanda Anisimova in the Wimbledon semi-finals, world’s No. 1 Arena Sabalenka arrived here last month, eager to defend her open crown and end her grand slam season with the title.
On Saturday, in front of 24,000 loud fans under the roof of Arthur Ash Stadium, Sabalenka silenced the crowd and won the deniers and her self-doubt in a 6-3, 7-6 (3) victory in 94 minutes.
In a battle between two of the most difficult batsmen on the tour, Sabalenka appeared to creep up on her way to victory in the second set, as Anishimova turned her back against the wall to raise her level.
Belarusian Sabalenka took two breaks on that set and played in the match 5-4. Only two points separate her from the title, she had the opportunity to get closer with her everyday overhead smash. But instead, she hit the ball into the net. She dropped the racket in disbelief.
Sabalenka later explained that she had lost her coolness and at the moment she had approached her to make her emotions do her best, but instead she took a deep breath and tried to move on.
“I said, ‘OK, it happens, it’s the past. Let’s focus on what’s next,” she said.
Anishimoba then scored the next point and extended the match.
However, after the pair split the next two games, Sabalenka was in solid control of the tiebreak. She needed three match points, but after Anishimova returned to her serve, she scored the victory.
Sabalenka, 27, kneeled and covered her head with many former champions, including Billy Jean King, Tracy Austin, Andy Roddick, Naomi Watts, Shonda Russ, Breanna Stewart and Stephen Colbert, sobbed at the celebration.
“I felt this was different because of the finals earlier this season,” Sabalenka said at a packed press conference, carrying a bottle of champagne and a pair of goggles next to her. “You know, this felt like I had to overcome a lot to get this.
“I knew (that’s why) because of the hard work we embraced, to be worthy of winning a Grand Slam title this season. So when I fell, it defended this title, brought such a great tennis player to the court, brought the fight and I’m really proud of it because I can handle my emotions in this final.
The victory made her the first woman to claim a US open title streak since Serena Williams did that in 2012 in 2013 and ’14, and the first woman to reach three major finals of the season since Williams and Angelique Carver did that in 2016.
Saturday marked Sabalenka’s fourth major title. All of these are on the hard court and have been acquired since the start of the 2023 season. She is the fifth player in her open era, winning her first four slam titles all on the same surface.
Sabalenka also avoided becoming the first woman to lose three major finals of the season since Justin Henin in 2006.
Anishimoba, who played in the second consecutive major final, explained that he struggled with his serve due to the bright light under the roof and was unable to see the ball while tossing. However, she admitted that Sabalenka had a “surprising” match.
“She was very aggressive and did all the right things, so today was very difficult for me,” said 24-year-old Anishimova. “I mean, I didn’t win today, so of course I didn’t do enough. It’s just reality. I have to accept that.
It hosted the world’s No. 1 rankings since October, and of all tournament favorites all year round, it was a challenging season for Sabalenka, who lost to the Madison Keys at the Australian Open in January when she was the defender champion. Sabalenka reached the final at French Open in June, but lost to Coco Gauff, going viral in a speech and post-match comments.
The devastated Sabalenka was reorganized after his loss to Anishimoba at the All England Club in July. She took a week off from tennis and took a vacation in Mykonos, Greece, trying to learn from everything she was there throughout the season.
“It really gave me time to think about the big games, the mentality I have, the mentality I need, how it is different from the previous games, and what I need to stay the same,” Sabalenka told ESPN last month at the Cincinnati Open. “I realized I need to respect the other person a little more and really fight for every point, but I also need to respect myself more.”
Speaking to the media on Friday, her team said former world No. 1 doubles player and Belarusian Max Milni added a “new voice” since Wimbledon as a consultant, but that she is working to manage her emotions and emphasized the importance of finding ways to win even when she’s not doing her best.
“The goal is always to work on what we need to work on right now,” said her performance coach Jason Stacey. “When she owns that level, we start adding another layer. When she really understands and owns that level, we add another layer.
“Looking at the numbers and statistics, it seems to be a steady process for us. Where we are now, her skill level, emotional control level, and understanding of the game is at a level that we can rely on at the end of every tournament, and we have a little more insight into ourselves to win many of these finals.”
Standing on stage at Saturday’s trophy ceremony, Sabalenka added to Anishimova that she knows how painful the big losses are, but that she “will enjoy it even more” when she inevitably wins.
Despite being runner-up, it was an incredible season for Anishimoba. Less than two years removed from mental health breaks from sports – she was exhibiting paintings at the New York Art Gallery exhibition during the US Open in 2023 – she won the biggest title of her career at Doha at 1000 levels in February, reaching her first meadow final at Queen’s Club in June, and her first major final in July. Anisimova made his top 10 debut soon.
During the US Open, Anishimova ran to the finals, revenging his previous defeat to Swiatek, a six-time slam champion, in the quarterfinals, and then defeated four major winner Naomi osaka in a three-set thriller in the semifinals.
Anishimova rises to the fourth-place career-high rankings after seven games in New York, behind Goff, becoming the second-place American.
Her loss to Swiatek at the All-England club was a staggering 6-0, 6-0 incident, but Anisimova refused to suffer a similar fate against Sabalenka in front of a supportive crowd. Anisimova quickly fell into a 2-0, 30 love deficit before fighting back to score the next four points to get a break. She then won the next two games, but Sabalenka once again leveled up.
By the end of the match, Anisimova had 22 winners at 13 Sabalenka, almost twice the number of unforced errors (29-13).
Still, despite her obvious improvements compared to the Wimbledon Finals, Anishimova couldn’t hide her disappointment, but she said she hoped it wouldn’t play in her final major finals.
“I was really motivated and I really wanted to give you the best shot in the final,” Anishimova said.
