Aryna Sabalenka has just successfully defended her US Open title after beating home star Amanda Anisimova 6-3 7-6 (3) in the final.
Sabalenka went 2-0 up early, but then surrendered back-to-back breaks and found herself 2-3 down. However, the defending champion's response was swift as she took the following four games to still routinely claim the opener, before also opening a 5-3 second-set lead. With her back turned against the wall, Anisimova stunningly managed to get back into the second set and force a tie-break. There, the American won the opening point but then made a series of unforced errors as the Belarusian won the next six points to go 6-1 up before converting her third championship point.
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For Sabalenka, this was her fourth Grand Slam title. Earlier this year, the 27-year-old finished as runner-up at the Australian Open and the French Open.
On the other side, Anisimova - who lost to Iga Swiatek in this year's Wimbledon - once again fell just a win away from becoming a Major winner.
Sabalenka was right; She learned from her 'tough lessons'
After arriving in New York, Sabalenka told reporters that losing in the Australian Open and French Open finals, and the Wimbledon semifinals, gave her some "tough lessons." But she added that she learned from that and that she would look to avoid the same fate at the US Open.
Ideally, I would love to finish the season with a Grand Slam and world No. 1. But if this goal is not going to be achieved, I still think that this season has been really amazing for me. All of those tough lessons that I learned are only going to make me stronger for the next one. Ill work even harder in the preseason to make sure next year is going to be only a year of success," the 27-year-old said two weeks ago.
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In the end, Sabalenka avoided finishing the 2025 season without a Grand Slam title capturd, and she very passionately celebrated her latest achievement after beating Anisimova.
