Rejecting Sanya! Sabalenka Fulfills Her US Open Dream Again

Sabalenka, making her third Grand Slam singles final appearance this season, at last avoided defeat! In the US Open women’s singles final just finished, she overcame the local 8th seed Anisimova, winning 6-3, 7-6 as the top seed and securing revenge, following Serena Williams as the second player to defend the US Open championship.

With this crucial final win, Sabalenka not only claimed her fourth Grand Slam title in her career but also secured the champion’s prize money of $5 million, approximately 35.66 million RMB, which stands as the highest single prize in professional tennis history to date.

At the same time, Sabalenka will continue to hold the world No. 1 ranking. Beyond her runner-up and semifinal appearances in major tournaments, she has already won four significant titles this 2025 season: WTA 500 Brisbane, WTA 1000 Miami, WTA 1000 Madrid, and the recently concluded US Open. She leads second-ranked Swiatek by a margin of 2,077 points.

Looking at Sabalenka’s season performance, it’s clear how important this final victory was for her. Earlier this year, she lost to American players in three major events: the Australian Open final (1-2 to Keys), the French Open final (1-2 to Gauff), and the Wimbledon semifinal (1-2 to Anisimova). Another defeat would have been devastating for her.

Fortunately for Sabalenka, everything turned out beautifully. With a dominant performance throughout the match, she denied the Americans a clean sweep of Grand Slam titles and broke the decade-long US Open women’s singles title defense drought. Notably, the second set tiebreak marked Sabalenka’s 21st win in tiebreaks this year (an overall 21-1 record).

“I love playing here. Over the years, I’ve built a great connection with everyone because you’ve given me so much support… I’m really looking forward to coming back next year and hope you will continue cheering for me. Thank you for creating such an amazing atmosphere.”

For Anisimova, finishing as runner-up in two consecutive Grand Slams is undoubtedly bittersweet, and she was seen crying behind her hands after the match. However, as a player born in the 2000s, she has a long career ahead. She expressed sadness over the loss during the award ceremony but vowed to keep working hard and look forward.

Despite finishing runner-up in two Grand Slams, Anisimova’s 2025 season remains full of breakthroughs. She has already achieved a career-high ranking of No. 4 and is expected to achieve even greater success on the professional tour in the future!(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Barbie)