Aryna Sabalenka has won her fourth Grand Slam title overall and second straight at the U.S. Open after defeating Amanda Anisimova in the women’s final on Saturday.
The 27-year-old from Belarus is the first woman since Serena Williams in 2012-14 to win consecutive trophies at the U.S. Open.
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No. 1-seeded Sabalenka took the first set against Anisimova 6-3. She nearly repeated the first set for the second set but Anisimova, a 24-year-old New Jersey native, put up a fight and pushed Sabalenka to break a 6-6 tie.
The Belarusian held a commanding lead and was first to hit the 7-point tiebreaker, winning her the title. She avoided becoming the first woman to lose three major finals in a single season since Justine Henin in 2006.
“All those tough lessons worth this one … I’m speechless right now,” Sabalenka said before accepting her $5 million payout.
At the Australian Open in January, Sabalenka lost to Madison Keys and then again to Coco Gauff at the French Open. At Wimbledon in July, Sabalenka was eliminated by Anisimova. That put Anisimova into her first major final, which she lost 6-0, 6-0 to Iga Swiatek.
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But Anisimova put that shutout behind her immediately, well enough to win a rematch against Swiatek in the U.S. Open quarterfinals.
In her post-match speech, Sabalenka congratulated Anisimova for making her first back-to-back Grand Slam final, saying she knows exactly “how much it hurts.”
“Trust me, the moment you’re going to win your first one, and you’re going to win it,” Sabalenka said. “You play incredible tennis.”
