Aryna Sabalenka will have to deal with a boisterous New York crowd when she faces home hope Jessica Pegula in Saturday’s US Open final.
World number two Sabalenka is into the final at Flushing Meadows for the second year in a row.
However, the Belarusian struggled to deal with the crowd when she lost to another American, Coco Gauff, in last year’s showpiece, later saying the noise was so loud it “blocked my ears”.
Sixth seed Pegula, appearing in a first major singles final, was born in New York, and will have the crowd’s backing.
“I had really tough lessons here in the past,” Sabalenka, 26, said.
“I wasn’t ready. Then I got emotional. Then I just couldn’t handle the crowd.
“Every time I’m hoping that one day I’ll be able to hold that beautiful trophy.”
The final begins at 21:00 BST, with commentary available on BBC 5 Live and the BBC Sport website and app.
Sabalenka may be second in the rankings to Iga Swiatek, but she is arguably the best Grand Slam player in the women’s game.
She has reached the final of the past four hard-court majors, winning two Australian Open titles, and has made the semi-finals stage or better at seven of her past eight Slams.
Pegula has also broken new ground, having previously lost all six of her Slam quarter-finals, before toppling Swiatek on Wednesday.
The daughter of Buffalo Bills’ owner Terry, Pegula has poked fun at misconceptions about her lifestyle, saying people expect her to have a butler because of her family’s wealth.
She has taken the subway to Flushing Meadows most days, documenting it on Instagram, and has spoken of the support she received from her parents.
Pegula struggled with injuries in her early days before making a steady rise up the world rankings, but a Slam title has remained elusive.
“It’s amazing. It’s a childhood dream. It’s what I wanted when I was a kid,” the 30-year-old said.
“It would mean the world to me to win. If you would have told me at the beginning of the year I’d be in the finals of the US Open, I would have laughed so hard.”
Sabalenka was always tipped as a major winner – her problem was harnessing her power and controlling her serve, which used to see her produce a high number of double faults.
She often lost early in the majors before finally reaching her first semi-final at Wimbledon in 2021.
She has let winning positions slip in key moments – including in the US Open semi-finals in 2022, where she led Swiatek 4-2 in the third set before losing four games in a row – but has seemed mentally stronger this year.
“The tough losses never made me feel depressed or think of not coming back to the tournament,” she said.
“It’s only motivated me to come back and try one more time, try harder and work harder on some things which maybe didn’t work in the past.”
Pegula v Sabalenka head-to-head
Pegula and Sabalenka arrived in New York as the two in-form players.
Sabalenka is on an 11-match winning streak, having beaten Pegula in the final of the Cincinnati Open a few weeks before the US Open began.
Pegula, meanwhile, has won 15 of her past 16 matches, including triumphing at the Canadian Open in August.
Sabalenka also leads the head-to-head between the pair 5-2, but Pegula’s two wins have both come on hard courts, including in windy conditions at the WTA Finals last year.
Should she win, Sabalenka would claim a third Grand Slam title, and become just the fourth player in the past 10 years to win multiple majors in a season, after Serena Williams, Angelique Kerber and Swiatek.
Pegula, meanwhile, would be the 10th American woman to win the US Open and the first Asian American woman to win a major singles title in the Open era.
