Aryna Sabalenka Joins Serena Williams in US Open History
US Open
September 7, 2025
Aryna Sabalenka saved her emotion for the moment she retained her US Open title and secured a special place in the history books.
As she sank to her knees and let the tears well in her eyes, she must have known the added significance. The first woman to retain her US Open title since Serena Williams in 2014.
Amanda Anisimova had walked round the net and was ready to embrace the winner when she got back to her feet.
The sporting American had let her emotions get the better of her during the aciton. And soon she was sobbing with the hurt of losing her second Grand Slam final in the space of a few weeks.
Caught cold and broken too many times, Anisimova claimed she couldn’t see the ball at the height of her toss due to the brightness of the Arthur Ashe lights.
Aryna Sabalenka was far more mature in her emotional and psychological approach. That will make her a very formidable contender when it comes to Wimbledon 2026.
Remember the old Sabalenka? All thunder and uncontrollable passion? That player might have crumbled when she blew her chance to close the match at 5-4 in the second.
She might have screamed and broken her racket when she hit an easy smash into the net and therefore squandered the opportunity to go to match point.
But this Sabalenka just smiled. And when it came to the tie-break, she just knew she was going to come up with the best tennis.
So it proved as Aryna finally silenced the deafening crowd on Ashe with her 6-3 7-6 (7-3) victory.
A less mature character would have been lost in the incredible noise from the tens of thousands of New Yorkers who wanted the local girl to come good.
Aryna Sabalenka is now too cool. She has undergone a transformation in 2025 that will make her even more awesome at Wimbledon 2026.
She explained how she had learned the hard way after losing finals this year in Australia and France.
Aryna said: ‘I realised it was time to look at those finals and learn something because I didn’t want it to happen again and again.
‘I thought if I made it to the final, it meant I was going to win. I didn’t expect players to come out and fight.
‘I thought everything was going to easily go my way. That was completely the wrong mindset.
‘Going into this final, I just decided I was going to control my emotions,’
That may have made for a less spectacular game overall. This powerful warrior only hit thirteen winners.
But crucially Sabalenka made just fifteen unforced errors all match. Anisimova committed almost double that amount.
‘It’s been a crazy, crazy journey,’ Amanda said. And she will learn to regulate better too, as she gets older. She will be stronger for Wimbledon 2026.
Aryna Sabalenka and Amanda Anisimova will probably thrill us all over again at Wimbledon 2026 with another gripping psychological battle.
That mental dimension is what makes Grand Slam tennis so special. Will you be there to witness the drama up close at Wimbledon 2026?
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