Aryna Sabalenka Clinches 2024 US Open Title, Seals Third Grand Slam Victory Over Jessica Pegula
World No. 2 Sabalenka completes an immaculate 2024 hard-court season, with her victory at the US Open 2024, adding to her victories in the Australian Open and prolonging her winning run in the summer.
In the final, Aryna Sabalenka defeated American Jessica Pegula 7-5, 7-5 to win the 2024 US Open, further solidifying her supremacy on hard courts. After winning the Australian Open earlier this year, Sabalenka’s victory at Arthur Ashe Stadium represented her third Grand Slam victory and her second major success of 2024.
The world No. 2 player defeated the No. 6 seed in one hour and fifty-three minutes on Arthur Ashe Stadium, capping a 12-match summer streak that began at the Cincinnati Open. Her victory followed her victory at the Australian Open.
The previous time Sabalenka and Pegula faced each other was prior to the US Open in Cincinnati, when Sabalenka prevailed in straight sets to take a 5-2 lead over the American and win her first championship since Melbourne in January.
After winning her second major championship, the former world No. 1 had a rollercoaster of a season that included losing her sad ex-partner Konstantin Koltsov and suffering a shoulder injury that kept her out of Wimbledon. Sabalenka prioritized her tour events above the Summer Olympics in Paris, and by the time she reached Flushing Meadows, she had fully recovered.
In order to get to the US Open final for the second time in a row, Sabalenka needed only one set to advance. She defeated Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen in the quarterfinals and defeated No. 13 seed Emma Navarro in a second-set tiebreaker. Having placed second to Coco Gauff a year earlier, the 26-year-old was keen to surpass her performance in 2024.
She had to overcome an inspired Pegula, though, who had salvaged her season following an unannounced breakup with David Witt earlier in the year. The 30-year-old spent the majority of the clay-court swing off the court due to a neck ailment, so she worked through it with partners Mark Knowles and Mark Merklein.
She was playing in her tenth US Open main draw, and earlier in the week, she decisively ended her run of 0–6 quarterfinal matches by defeating world No. 1 Iga Swiatek in straight sets. The National Bank Open champion, who is the daughter of Terry Pegula, owner of the Buffalo Bills and the Sabres, almost lost in the semifinals but rallied to face the formidable Karolina Muchova and secure a spot in the match of her career.
Under the roof of Ashe Stadium, Sabalenka faced an equally passionate and partisan crowd in a second US Open final against an American. The crowd let their voices be known when Pegula scored the first break of the match.
As she had done early on against Navarro, Sabalenka tried to cut through the din. She quickly won the following four games and overcame a tiresome seventh to take a 5-2 lead.
As the match approached the half-hour mark, Pegula put an end to the run of games. In the subsequent game, she received a standing ovation for returning the set to serve after stepping in on Sabalenka’s second serve.
With a backhand winner, Sabalenka salvaged break point and attempted to recapture the momentum, inspiring applause from the spectators following a net foray. As the eleventh game headed into its fourth deuce, Pegula played similarly to Sabalenka, but Sabalenka managed to hold on and put herself back on the verge of the opening set.
Sabalenka took advantage of a second serve return and rocked Pegula into a 15–40 disadvantage. Following that, Pegula saved four set points, but Sabalenka persisted and earned a fifth after an inadvertent double fault. With a skillfully executed drop shot, Sabalenka sealed the set as the clock reached the hour.
With an ace that caressed the T and opened with a firm hold, Sabalenka started the second set as if giving a tribute to the closeness of the first. Pegula double fumbled on a break point and closed in on the crown with an ace, giving her the victory in her fourth straight game.
Pegula saved a break point as the match was about to end in order to prevent a double break. Once Pegula got on the scoreboard, she immediately placed Sabalenka under pressure again, winning five games in a row to completely change the course of the match.
With the possibility of a decisive set suddenly looming, Sabalenka took control and claimed four straight games from a 3-5 deficit, twice breaking Pegula to win her maiden US Open championship in less than two hours.
Aryna Sabalenka Wins Her First US Open Title by Overcoming Past Heartbreaks
She was able to restrain her emotions, stop herself mid-meltdown, and even win the support of the American audience in her opposition to Jessica Pegula.
If you find that the loudness a crowd is creating for your opponent bothers you, what should you do? If you were Aryna Sabalenka, you would instruct them to prepare it in your place.
The deafening cheers from the pro-American crowd during her opponent, Coco Gauff, in last year’s US Open final, according to Sabalenka, “blocked my ears” and caused her to make a lot of mistakes. This year, Sabalenka made the decision to demand—no, ask—some of that love for herself after spending over an hour listening to the same crowd yell in unison in support of Jessica Pegula. The New York fans complied, never one to reject down an opportunity to be heard.
That might not have been the cause of Sabalenka’s final 7-5, 7-5 victory over Pegula in two close, exciting, slam-bang sets to win her third Grand Slam title. However, it was just one more indication of the 26-year-old’s ongoing development as a player and a person. She made the atmosphere feel a little less onerous by being loose and having some fun with it rather than hanging her head and letting the audience shout her down.
During the prize ceremony that followed, Sabalenka remarked, “I heard a lot of support.” “You were supporting me during those happy times.”
In seven matches in New York, Sabalenka only lost one set, yet she more than deserved to win her maiden US Open championship. She had suffered heartbreaking losses in each of her three semifinal and final losses at Flushing Meadows since 2021.Initially, she lost the third set 6-4 to unknown Leylah Fernandez. She led 4-2 in the third but fell to Iga Swiatek. After winning the first set, she finally gave up and threw two of her racquets into the trash bin in the locker room. Every time, Sabalenka’s own feelings decided her fate more so than the talent of her opponent.
That similar fate appeared to be in store for her three times this past weekend.
Sabalenka lost the second set and the tiebreaker against Emma Navarro, another American, in her semifinal match. She gazed at her group. Her eyes rolled. She struck the court with her racket. However, she composed herself, stopped her tirade, and played flawless tennis to shut out Navarro just as another meltdown seemed certain.
After defeating Navarro, she remarked, “I was like, ‘No, no, no, Aryna, it’s not going to happen again.'” “You need to master emotional self-control. You must put yourself first. “I’m very happy that the lessons [were] understood.”
Sabalenka put her emotional control to the test once more on Saturday against Pegula, as she created leads in both sets only to watch them dissipate.
She served at 5-3 in the first game, but then her nerves got the better of her. She blasted a 10-foot-long forehand, double faulted, and broke.
She led 3-0 in the second set and appeared to have crushed Pegula’s confidence. However, the American rediscovered her form and focus after Pegula saved a break point for 0-4, and the audience applauded. Pegula’s superior play caught Sabalenka off guard, and she was unable to respond. She went from down 3-5 in the blink of an eye.
Sabalenka remarked, “I thought she was so down at three-love emotionally.” I only woke up between three and five, so I guess I wasn’t ready. “I have to come back and get this game,” I murmured.
Pegula served at 5-4, and Sabalenka displayed her champion’s athleticism and her mettle. then sprang high to open the game with a backhand volley, and then won it with a forehand that landed squarely on the sideline.
Sabalenka declared, “I know that I have to go for it.” “For me, there’s only one way that works.”
With a bold move, she leveled the set at 5-5. She won her US Open championship two games later.
She remarked, “I just remember all those difficult losses I had to go through.” “All these difficult lessons in order to hold this lovely trophy.”
In the end, Sabalenka proved to be too strong for Pegula, as she usually is when she prevails. With her ground strokes, serve, and return, she ruled and continuously rushed and agitated Pegula. Sabalenka was 18 of 23 at net and had 40 wins compared to Pegula’s 22. In every set, she lost her composure, just as she had previously lost it here. But this time, she managed to take control again.
In response to the question of what had changed for Sabalenka to become a Grand Slam champion, she told ESPN, “I think mentally I became really strong.” “Come on, Aryna, you’ve been through a lot; things will slowly come back to you,” I tell myself again and over.
The hardest blow Sabalenka had to deal with was the 43-year-old passing of her father, Sergey, who had first introduced her to tennis.
“I feel so proud of myself and my family every time I see my name on that trophy because they never gave up on my dream and did everything in their power to support me.”
Now, Sabalenka—Sergey and Aryna’s names—will always be remembered in US Open history.
