Aryna Sabalenka pressed home her claim to be the best hard-court player in the world as she won her maiden US Open title.
Sabalenka won a fabulously entertaining final against Jessica Pegula, the doughty American, who nevertheless made her toil for her success.
It was a hard-earned triumph, and there were moments when Sabalenka must have feared a repeat of last year’s final here against Coco Gauff: a match in which she lost her target computer and committed dozens of unforced errors.
This time, though, Sabalenka held her nerve even when Pegula threatened a repeat of Gauff’s comeback from one set down.
In the end, the woman with the tiger tattoo had the might, the fight and the bite to overcome Pegula’s courageous challenge by a 7-5, 7-5 scoreline.
Sabalenka climbed into the stands after claiming the final point with one of her inexorable dashes to the net – a tactic that won her 18 points from 23 attempts.
She wept in the arms of her boyfriend, businessman Georgio Frangulis, and then kissed the bald head of her fitness coach Jason Stacy – which has now also been emblazoned with a tiger tattoo.
Sabalenka had missed Wimbledon and the Olympic Games on account of a shoulder injury which prevented her from serving properly. Here, though, her serve was ferocious, reaching a high point of 119mph.
The contest felt like a heavyweight taking on a bantamweight. Pegula managed to extend it further than many would have expected, especially after facing a break point that would have seen her go 4-0 down in the second set.
After saving that break point with a bold forehand up the line, Pegula went on a five-game tear that put her in pole position to level the match at one set apiece. She was standing her ground and spreading the court with some punchy shot-making of her own.
But Sabalenka wasn’t done. Playing what the commentator Mary Carillo has dubbed “big babe tennis”, she stopped the rot by holding for 4-3 and then extended that service hold into her own four-game sequence.
The crowd did their best to roar Pegula on, yet they also gave Sabalenka some appreciation for some of her more spectacular winners. How could one not, when she swings as hard as any woman in the history of the game? At this event, her forehand has travelled at a higher average speed than anyone else’s, be they male or female.
And yet, Sabalenka’s win was not only about ten-ton ball-strikes. She has also improved her rally tolerance this year, working on her footwork and her backhand slice. It was telling that, out of 15 rallies that ran beyond nine shots, she won 12.
Pegula deserves great credit for putting up such stout resistance. She was trying everything the knew in a desperate attempt to tame the tiger. But in the end, Sabalenka just had too many ways to hurt her: aces, drop-shots and volleys as well as the massive groundstroke piledrivers she can strike off both wings.
Over the last two seasons, Sabalenka has now played in all 28 rounds at the two hard-court slams in Melbourne and New York. She has won 27 of those matches, with the one exception coming against Gauff here last year.
Sabalenka’s compatriot Max Mirnyi, an equally imposing physical specimen, used to be known as the beast of Belarus when he was winning major doubles titles in the Noughties.
Perhaps Sabalenka should now be granted that title, having proved herself to be the ultimate apex predator.
Sabalenka earns US Open redemption, as it happened
12:02 AM BST
That’s all folks
Thanks for joining me for what was a very entertaining women’s final. The men’s final begins shortly after 7pm on Sunday so join me again for that!
11:54 PM BST
Sabalenka’s peers react
Drinks on @SabalenkaA for everyone? What a terrific final! The beauty of best of 3 sets when each game from the jump means so much!
— Pam Shriver (@PHShriver) September 7, 2024
What a match ladies 👏👏👏👏
Congrats @SabalenkaA what a year 😅🫣
Great tournament @JPegula incredible US swing 👏👏❤️— Ons Jabeur (@Ons_Jabeur) September 7, 2024
11:44 PM BST
Sabalenka reacts
I’m speechless right now, because so many times I was so close to getting the US Open title. It’s a dream of mine, and finally I’ve got this beautiful trophy.
It’s been a really difficult couple of weeks. Jessica played some amazing tennis and I’m more than sure that one day you’re going to get one Grand Slam, maybe more! Congratulations on a great summer.
That second set, I was literally praying to get this win. It means a lot. I remember all those tough losses in the past here. I’m just super proud of myself, and I never say that, but I am. I’m super proud of myself and my team.
No matter what situations we were faced this season and in the past, we were able to go through it and get these beautiful trophies.
11:38 PM BST
From one champion to another
11:34 PM BST
Pegula reacts
It’s been an incredible month for me really. I had a rough start to the year but was really able t turn it around.
To be able to be standing here in my first Grand Slam final, I didn’t expect it and I’m just so grateful and didn’t expect it. I wish she would have at least let me get one set! She’s super powerful and the best hard court player in the world.
I fought back and gave myself a chance, but it wasn’t enough.
11:27 PM BST
Tears for Sabalenka
11:21 PM BST
A new name on the US Open trophy board
11:17 PM BST
WATCH: How Sabalenka won the US Open
11:12 PM BST
Sabalenka* 7-5, 7-5 Pegula
Serving to stay in the match, Pegula claims the opening point. She loses the second though after an unstoppable forehand by Sabalenks finds the sideline, 15-15.
A 40th winner from Sabalenka makes it 15-30. Deep Sabalenka forehand and Pegula’s forehand is long, two championship points.
Sabalenka slices a defensive forehand into the net on the first. Big Sabalenka forehand, Pegula anticipates it but her forehand goes long. GAME SET MATCH SABALENKA!!
11:08 PM BST
Sabalenka 7-5, 6-5 Pegula*
Double fault Sabalenka, her first of the set, 15-15. A sign of nerves? No. Because she wins the next three points to hold and make Pegula hold to take the set into a tiebreak.
Huge game for both players coming up.
11:04 PM BST
Sabalenka* 7-5, 5-5 Pegula
Brilliant backhand overhead smash by Sabalenka, 0-15. Great balance and feel on the shot. Big hitting by Sabalenka and Pegula puts a forehand long, 0-30. Then a backhand long after Sabalenka digs in and refuses to miss. Three break points.
Pegula saves the first. Then the second when Sabalenka just misses the baseline with a backhand down the line. Third time lucky for Sabalenka as she finds the sideline with a forehand winner.
Yet another momentum shift as Sabalenka breaks.
10:59 PM BST
Sabalenka 7-5, 4-5 Pegula*
If I said Sabalenka would need to serve to stay in the set 20 minutes ago, that would have been laughable. But that’s where we are right now and the Belarusian is looking flustered.
Pegula applies the pressure here however Sabalenka comes through to hold to 30. Huge moment for Pegula coming up.
10:56 PM BST
Sabalenka* 7-5, 3-5 Pegula
Frustration is building for Sabalenka as she nets a forehand, 30-0. 30th unforced error by Sabalenka makes it 40-30. Pegula double faults after thinking the first serve was a let.
But she consolidates the break and gets a standing ovation from the home crowd. Arthur Ashe Stadium has come alive.
10:51 PM BST
Sabalenka 7-5, 3-4 Pegula*
Pegula is on fire right now and she earns a break point to move ahead in the set. Sabalenka’s first serve has gone AWOL and her grunts are getting increasingly louder.
A change up from Pegula as she hits a slice down the line, Sabalenka moves across to it and hits a forehand slice but nets.
What a turnaround as Pegula breaks again for her fourth game in a row.
10:48 PM BST
Sabalenka* 7-5, 3-3 Pegula
Pegula is feeling it now and the momentum has swung back towards her. She races to 40-0 with a forehand winner before Sabalenka pegs her back to 40-30.
Great defence by Sabalenka and Pegula nets a forehand, deuce. Pegula eventually gets over the line and holds to level the set.
10:40 PM BST
Sabalenka 7-5, 3-2 Pegula*
Pegula needs to lift the crowd and hope that rattles Sabalenka, who has looked very strong mentally so far.
A backhand into the net by Sabalenka and Pegula moves to 15-30. Wild forehand by Sabalenka goes well long, two break points for Pegula out of nowhere.
Sabalenka saves the first. But not the second. 101mph first serve by Sabalenka, Pegula anticipates it and drills a backhand down the line, Sabalenka slices a defensive forehand long and we are back on serve as Pegula breaks.
10:36 PM BST
Sabalenka* 7-5, 3-1 Pegula
A forlorn look on Pegula’s face as she is beaten by another forehand winner from Sabalenka, 15-15. Winning the first set has allowed Sabalenka to settle and swing freely. Pegula is playing tight and nervous.
Sabalenka finds the baseline with a forehand winner down the line and earns a break point. Brave forehands by Pegula and she draws the error, deuce.
Relief for Pegula as she finally holds to end Sabalenka’s run of games.
10:30 PM BST
Sabalenka 7-5, 3-0 Pegula*
Seeing a graphic which sees the average rally hit point for both players. Sabalenka is striking the ball inside the baseline and Pegula is over a metre behind.
The power from Sabalenka has been too much and the problems increase for Pegula as Sabalenka ruthlessly holds to love.
Sabalenka is marching to victory at the moment.
10:28 PM BST
Sabalenka* 7-5, 2-0 Pegula
No let up from Sabalenka as her pressure results in two break points at 15-40. She can’t break on the first but she does on the second when Pegula double faults.
The American throws her racket to the ground. Uphill task for her now.
10:25 PM BST
Second Set: Sabalenka 7-5, 1-0 Pegula*
How will Pegula respond now? Winning the first set should give Sabalenka even more confidence and she already hit 25 winners, compared to 11 for Pegula.
A service hold to 30 by Sabalenka continues her momentum which Pegula must find a way to stop.
10:23 PM BST
‘A wonderful set of tennis’
Kind of a shame it didn’t go to a tie-break because that was a wonderful set of tennis. I counted 25 clean winners from Sabalenka, whose whole vibe fits the tiger tattoo on her forearm. She is looking to savage you with every shot. J Peg doing a good job of taming the beast – but not quite good enough.
10:19 PM BST
Sabalenka* 7-5 Pegula
Trouble for Pegula as she nets a forehand, 15-30. She then nets a backhand and decides to change her racket again with Sabalenka at 15-40.
Longest rally of the match so far, Pegula holds her own and Sabalenka blinks first when she pushes a backhand long, 30-40. Timely first serve by Pegula and both set points are saved to her relief.
Oh no. Pegula error on the easiest shot of the match when she puts a backhand into the net, third set point. Sabalenka forehand into the net, back to deuce.
She brings up another set point with a running forehand winner down the line. Another first serve found by Pegula when she’s in trouble and Sabalenka nets the return.
First double fault of the match for Pegula. Terrible time for it as it gives Sabalenka a fifth set point. Sabalenka drop shot, Pegula gets there but can’t get the ball over the net and Sabalenka breaks to take the first set.
Wow.
10:10 PM BST
Sabalenka 6-5 Pegula*
A ninth unforced error on the backhand side puts Pegula ahead in the game at 0-15. Pegula forehand return winner, 30-30. Sabalenka double faults again and repeatedly whacks her racket on the court. Break point Pegula.
Brave backhand winner down the line by Sabalenka and it’s deuce. Sabalenka asks for some support and she gets it after a volley winner. They then cheer against her after she hits her fourth double fault.
However, Sabalenka comes through another mammoth service game to book at least a tiebreak for herself. Will Pegula join her there?
10:01 PM BST
Sabalenka* 5-5 Pegula
It’s never truly a break of service unless you consolidate it and Pegula puts herself in position to hold by racing to 40-0. She’s won 12 of the last 15 points and the errors are mounting up for Sabalenka.
The Belarusian gets on the scoreboard with a backhand winner then Pegulas sees a forehand deflect off the net cord and fly wide. The American needs the next point badly. And she gets it when Sabalenka nets a backhand.
On we go in this topsy-turvy first set.
09:56 PM BST
Sabalenka 5-4 Pegula*
Great hustle and defence by Pegula to turn the point around and Sabalenka nets a forehand, 15-30. Backhand to backhand exchange, cagey rally and Pegula nets. My lip-reading skills detected an expletive after that miss!
But Pegula will be happier now after Sabalenka hits a double fault to give up a break point. Wow. Massive forehand winner by Sabalenka blasts by Pegula.
Pegula earns another break point though when Sabalenka nets another forehand. Sabalenka forehand long and Pegula breaks back.
09:51 PM BST
Sabalenka* 5-3 Pegula
Pegula has switched rackets multiple times in the match. Clearly not happy with the tension of her strings. But to be honest, the bigger concern is the massive ball striking from Sabalenka which means she is having to counter punch in the majority of the rallies.
However, Pegula does hold to 15 here and makes Sabalenka serve for the set.
09:48 PM BST
Sabalenka 5-2 Pegula*
Too good from Sabalenka as she finds the baseline with a forehand winner down the line but she goes for too much with a backhand it’s deuce.
Sabalenka’s first serve bails her out of trouble and she consolidates the break.
09:41 PM BST
Sabalenka* 4-2 Pegula
Another deep Sabalenka return rushes Pegula into an error, 15-30. Sabalenka plays the next point on her terms, dictating with her forehand and finishing with a winner to give herself two break points.
Pegula forehand long and Sabalenka breaks to claim her third game in a row.
Ominous times for Pegula now.
09:38 PM BST
‘Big babe tennis’
Fantastic start to this final with Sabalenka in particular playing what the commentator Mary Carillo has dubbed “big babe tennis”.
She touched 119mph with her penultimate serve in that last game. Interesting to see whether she can avoid the regular errors that undid her last year against Coco Gauff. Pegula defends well, but not as well as Gauff.
09:36 PM BST
Sabalenka 3-2 Pegula*
Double fault by Sabalenka is cheered by the home crowd, 30-all. Sabalenka responds with an overhead winner and holds with Pegula puts a forehand wide.
This match is shaping up nicely.
09:33 PM BST
Sabalenka* 2-2 Pegula
Back comes Sabalenka as she takes Pegula to deuce with a blistering forehand winner then earns a break point when Pegula sends a forehand long.
And just like Pegula did in the previous game, Sabalenka hits a huge return that proves to be too hot for her opponent and she breaks straight back.
09:27 PM BST
Sabalenka 1-2 Pegula*
First break points of the final go to the underdog as Pegula moves to 15-40 when Sabalenka puts a forehand wide.
What a return by Pegula. Right at the feet of Sabalenka, who can’t redirect the ball back into play.
Pegula breaks!
09:25 PM BST
Sabalenka* 1-1 Pegula
Huge roar for Pegula as she holds to 15 confidently. If she can continue finding her first serve that consistently, it gives her a chance. If she gives Sabalenka too many looks at her second serve, she will be in trouble.
09:24 PM BST
‘The match started amid deafening white noise’
The match started amid deafening white noise from a downpour reverberating on the roof. Now it has calmed down in the second game and we can hear the mighty Saba-strike. When she connects with a groundstroke, it stays hit.
09:22 PM BST
First Set: Aryna Sabalenka 1-0 Jessica Pegula* (*denotes next server)
Torrential rain in New York means the roof is covering Arthur Ashe Stadium. That should help Sabalenka more with no variable conditions. But under the roof it can become very humid and hot which can be problematic for players.
Sabalenka falls to 0-30 but four first serves in a row and she recovers to hold. An early demonstration of the power the Belarusian possesses.
09:12 PM BST
Here we go!
Pegula and Sabalenka make their way onto court and past the trophy they are playing for tonight. Pegula started walking out with her headphones covering her ears but removed them to hear the great reception she received from the home fans.
No doubt who is the fan favourite here.
09:05 PM BST
McEnroe hails Sabalenka
Sabalenka has improved her movement, but I don’t think that she is at the same level as Serena when she was at her best.
Obviously, we are talking about two of the biggest hitters that have ever been in the women’s game, but I would take Serena to beat her still.
I have a huge amount of respect for Sabalenka. She has improved her game and that is why she is finally winning majors and contending in every event she is in.
08:57 PM BST
British success in New York
Fifteen-year-old Mika Stojsavljevic became the first British girl to win a junior grand slam title since 2009 as she defeated seventh seed Wakana Sonobe at the US Open.
Stojsavljevic, who hails from Acton in west London, is also the youngest junior champion at this event since 2006, when the trophy went to 15-year-old Russian prodigy Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova – later a French Open finalist.
Stojsavljevic came into this tournament as the least heralded of the three British girls in attendance, behind Orange Bowl champion Hannah Klugman and the consistent Mingge Xu. Also the youngest member of the trio, she has been training at the National Academy in Loughborough for the past three years.
Click here to read more.
08:50 PM BST
Pegula: It’s a childhood dream
It’s a childhood dream [to be in the final]. It’s what I wanted when I was a kid. It’s a lot of work, a lot of hard work put in. You couldn’t even imagine how much goes into it.
So to be able to overcome all those challenges and say that I get a chance at the title Saturday is what we play for as players, let alone being able to do that in my home country here, in my home Slam. It’s perfect, really.
08:41 PM BST
Pegula is among special company
08:35 PM BST
Sabalenka hitting forehand faster than top men’s players at US Open
By Fiona Tomas
Aryna Sabalenka’s run to the final at this year’s US Open may not come as a complete surprise when you comb through her stats: the Belarusian is striking the ball harder than top male players at Flushing Meadows.
She has built her game around her powerful forehand, swatting her opponents aside with a terrifying ease that would make most male players squirm. The world No 2 has recorded average forehand topspin speeds of 129 kph in New York, bettering those of the ‘big three’ of Carlos Alcaraz (127 kph) Jannik Sinner (126 kph) and Novak Djokovic (122 kph).
Click here to read more.
08:24 PM BST
Sabalenka and Pegula’s road to the final
08:14 PM BST
A landmark day for Sabalenka
08:02 PM BST
US Open women’s final
Hello and welcome to coverage of the women’s final at the US Open between Aryna Sabalenka and Jessica Pegula.
Pegula is in unchartered territory having been 0-6 in quarter-finals until eliminating No 1 Iga Swiatek in that round on Wednesday. She then backed it up with a fight back against Karolina Muchova in the semi-finals to book her place in tonight’s showdown.
The American has won 15 of her past 16 matches, all on hard courts with the lone loss in that span coming against Sabalenka in the final of the Cincinnati Open last month.
“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 because that was where my head was. I was not thinking that I would be here,” she said.
“So to be able to overcome all those challenges and have a chance at the title on Saturday … in my home country, in my home slam. It’s perfect, really.”
Standing in her way is the reigning two-time Australian Open champion Sabalenka, whose thunderous serve and punishing groundstrokes have overwhelmed her opponents at Flushing Meadows this year.
The second-seeded Belarusian is looking for redemption after letting last year’s U.S. Open final slip away to American Coco Gauff after winning the first set.
“Last year it was very tough experience, very tough lesson,” she said. “I wasn’t ready. Then I got emotional. Then I just couldn’t handle the crowd.”
“We had a lot of great battles in the past, really difficult, tight matches,” she added.
“Jessica’s playing really incredible tennis. We played recently in Cincinnati and it was a really tough match. Even though I closed the match in two sets, still it wasn’t that easy. She’s playing her best tennis, I would say, and feels like she’s back on track. Cannot wait to play against her.”
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