On Saturday, it rained heavily outside the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, but lightning struck only once under the cover of Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Aryna Sabalenka won her third major and first U.S. Open with an exciting final victory over Jessica Pegula, 7-5, 7-5. Aside from today’s victory, this will go a long way toward exorcising Sabalenka’s demons from last year, when she faced an American in Coco Gauff and won the first set before collapsing.
Today, she demonstrated her unparalleled power—this is a player who hits the hardest forehand in tennis, male or female—along with genuine composure and the ability to reset. Sabalenka was startled after leaping out to a 5-2 lead in the first set thanks to unstoppable ball hitting. She recovered, however, and won the set 7-5.
The second set followed a similar rhythm. Sabalenka won the first three games and appeared to be on her way to victory, but she subsequently faltered, while Pegula discovered both her stroke range and her confidence. Pegula suddenly had a 5-3 lead after winning five consecutive games. Sabalenka regrouped, however, and won the next four games. When she saw match point soar beyond her past the baseline, she collapsed to her knees and began crying, reflecting on how much this title meant to her, especially after last year’s failure.
Though she still ranked second, let us be clear: Sabalenka is the 2024 MVP. She won two majors, including the Cincinnati event in August. An injury prevented her from advancing at Roland Garros, and the same problem kept her out of Wimbledon. One wonders what she could have accomplished if she had been fully healthy.
Bigger picture, this is a player who has always been noted for her power and volatility. You never knew what you’d get, much like Forrest Gump’s box of chocolates. You were aware, however, that she lacked the consistency to string together seven consecutive wins. How times have changed.
ARYNA SABALENKA REIGNS SUPREME IN NEW YORK! pic.twitter.com/rVEGvuBMe4
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 7, 2024
Over the previous 30 months, she’s emerged as the most consistent player in women’s tennis, capable of going deep into events and winning the major prize three times in the last 18 months.
On the other end of the net, Pegula will be sad not to win her first major, but with some perspective—which she has plenty of—she will call it a breakthrough. At the age of 30, she has demonstrated that she still has enough of good tennis to play. Seventy-two hours earlier, she made her first major semifinal. She then followed that up with a three-set victory to claim her first major title. While she didn’t win the title on Saturday, she made the top player in the world fight for it and provided plenty of offense to complement her typically solid defense.
Sabalenka will enter 2025 as the player to beat, rankings be damned. She’s accomplished all of this while maintaining her unique personality. She stays vocal and unrestrained, often to her detriment. This is not a player who maintains a poker face on the court. However, she has demonstrated that you can play winning tennis while maintaining a winning personality, and at the age of 26, she appears to be just getting started.
