Aryna Sabalenka Reigns in New York Once Again

Aryna Sabalenka Captures Her 4th Major Title

The 2025 season has been a turbulent one for the WTA tour's frontrunner, Aryna Sabalenka. The 27-year-old has maintained the number one ranking throughout the year despite enduring a slew of second place trophies and unhappy press conferences. But on Saturday, Sabalenka sauntered into the media center with a big smile on her face. "It's going to be a fun media!" she exclaimed, wielding a giant bottle of champagne and more importantly: the champion's trophy. After two slam finals lost to start the year and a semi at Wimbledon, Sabalenka finally struck gold in the place she last tasted this unbeatable feeling, one year ago. 

Above: Sabalenka with her trophy from the US Open in 2024. Aryna Sabalenka is the first woman to defend her US Open title since Serena Williams in 2014. Photo credit: Ocoudis, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.

This tournament was clearly a memorable one for Sabalenka. But what made winning so enjoyable wasn't the buildup to match point. She hadn't survived late-night epics or come back from the brink of defeat. In fact, her track record at the event since first ball two weeks ago has been pretty clean. A bunch of two-set, comfortable wins. She actually only dropped one all tournament, to American Jessica Pegula in her semi-final matchup. What made this result so important was that it played out like you'd expect from the #1. And at the other three majors, it hasn't looked this way. 

If one were to examine all of the players Sabalenka took down at this tournament, the one matchup that rings alarm bells was actually her final challenge: Amanda Anisimova. Anisimova was a particularly dangerous player for a few key reasons. Just over a month ago, she defeated Sabalenka in the semi-finals of Wimbledon, so she knew what it took to take down the big-hitting Belarusian. And after losing a heartbreaker to Iga Swiatek in the championship match, she was even more hungry to walk away with the trophy here in New York. But Sabalenka knew all this, and she was ready for the task.

Above: Amanda Anisimova showing grace in the "trophy pose" of her serve. Photo credit: Carine06 from UK, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

The top seed started out strong, breaking the American. Already, signs of frustration appeared on Anisimova's face similar to the ones seen a month prior at Wimbledon. Would history repeat itself and Anisimova once again unable to handle the moment? No. The 8th seed battled courageously, breaking right back and shifting the momentum in her favor. But that's when Sabalenka figured out that she wasn't going to get away with an easy win, so she raised her level higher and claimed the first set, 6-3. 

The second set ended up looking similar, at least at first. Sabalenka secured another break, and found herself serving for the match up 5-4. But the American crowd wanted to see more, and Anisimova was able to please them, finding her best tennis in the most important moment to level the battle 5-5. And as you may be able to predict, the two pushed each other into a tiebreak, but this is where experience played in. Sabalenka didn't want to deal with the challenge of a third set. She wanted to end the match, even though Anisimova was armed with an extra pump of motivation and nearly 30,000 fans cheering her on. The top seed leapt to an early lead, and knew that her opponent wasn't as comfortable in dealing with these moments. She stayed under the radar, focusing on staying big on her serve and cutting down on her errors. This tactic worked, and is worked quickly. Without even ten points having to be played, Sabalenka melted into the court after winning the tiebreak 7-3. 

Above: The sun sets on the New York Skyline; concluding another amazing year at the US Open. Photo credit: © Rolex/Jed Jacobsohn.

And there you have it. Had Sabalenka not won this title, keeping the #1 spot next to her name could have been difficult. Other players are pushing her, and the 2026 season is going to be even more intense. But for now, she proved that the top spot is where she belongs. She demonstrated her best tennis for the world to see, and for the first time this year she's able to walk away with that true smile on her face. 

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Written by William Turvey. Top photo credit: US Open Tennis Championships.