Aryna Sabalenka Dives Into the Optimism Of Potentially Defending her US Open Title Against Amanda Anisimova

Belarusian tennis ace Aryna Sabalenka is bidding to become the first player since Serena Williams (2013 and 2014) to defend the US Open women’s singles title. The World No.1 claimed her spot in the final of the New York Grand Slam after coming from a set down to beat home favorite Jessica Pegula in three sets at the Arthur Ashe Stadium.

The 27-year-old has compiled a tour-leading 55 victories this season, including 22 at Grand Slam events. She has been in the semi-finals of all major tournaments this season. Besides that, she has won 38 of her last 40 matches at hard court Grand Slam events and has been to the final of all past six hard court majors, winning three in the process.

However, she’s yet to win a Grand Slam title this season after suffering two heartbreaking losses in finals. She lost to Madison Keys in the Australian Open final before Coco Gauff pulled off a remarkable comeback to stun her at the French Open. At the US Open, she’s aiming to change the narrative by winning her first Slam of the year.

But she will have to go past Amanda Anisimova in the championship match before dreaming of lifting the title. The Belarusian holds an underwhelming 3-6 head-to-head record against the 24-year-old star. Their last meeting came at the Wimbledon Championship, where Anisimova beat her in three sets to reach her first Slam final.

During Sabalenka’s post-match press conference, she was asked how much she wanted to be in the final of the US Open. The three-time singles major champion revealed that she wanted to give herself another opportunity of reaching the final, while hoping to win the title on Saturday (September 6).

I badly wanted to give myself another opportunity, another final, and I want to prove to myself that I learned those tough lessons and I can do better in the finals. If I’ll be able to hold that trophy, it’s going to mean a lot for me. I’ll be the happiest person on earth, probably.

Sabalenka has been to seven finals on tour this season, more than any player on the women’s circuit. But she has only managed to win three of them, finishing as runners-up in four events. In fact, she has not won a title since the Madrid Open in April. Going into the US Open, she will hope not to leave the court as a runner-up, which will make it four months without a singles crown.

Aryna Sabalenka and Amanda Anisimova reach the final of the 2025 US Open

Aryna Sabalenka recovered from a poor start during her match against Jessica Pegula in the semi-finals of the US Open. The partisan crowd had drowned the struggling World No.1 on the court as Pegula ran away with the first set. But in the second set, Sabalenka came all out, winning the first three games, before Pegula claimed her first.