Aryna Sabalenka has returned to Grand Slam glory, defeating Amanda Anisimova in the final of the US Open.
Anisimova labelled Sabalenka “incredible” after their final, in which the Belarusian triumphed 6-3, 7-6(7-3) for her 100th Grand Slam match win.
New York’s Arthur Ashe Stadium played host to the final of the US Open, where Sabalenka defended her title from 2024.
Sabalenka was quick to congratulate Anisimova after their match, with the American having reached back-to-back Grand Slam finals.
She also lost the Wimbledon final to Iga Swiatek, suffering a dramatic 6-0, 6-0 loss in London earlier this summer.
What was very unusual about Aryna Sabalenka’s US Open final performance
Anisimova remains without a Grand Slam title following the match, while Sabalenka now has four such titles to her name.
It was, however, an unusual performance from the WTA number one in the eyes of former Grand Slam doubles champion Chanda Rubin.
The former top 10 player said on Tennis Channel: “I called it strategic Sabalenka and we don’t often say that.
“We think of her as just a power broker, but midway through the first set she started massaging that ball and going for more placement. You mention how far back behind the baseline she dropped.
“All of that was to give herself more time to force Anisimova into a few more errors and she got just that. On her side of the court Sabalenka was very clean and that was a huge advantage down the stretch.”
Amanda Anisimova praised despite US Open final loss to Aryna Sabalenka
Rubin also issued big praise for the runner-up, who enjoyed a stunning run in New York before finally falling to the world number one.
She said of Anisimova: “She showed so much this US Open. We saw it at Wimbledon, we saw how well Amanda Anisimova can hit the ball, but it’s about more than just hitting the ball.
“You get to these moments and another final the way she did, it was emotional the way she got through Iga Swiatek and even that match against Naomi Osaka was another emotional match where she found a way to pull things back together when she was about to lose it.
“It’s not easy to come back in this final against Sabalenka the way that she plays, I thought maybe she did get a little bit tired or maybe just the mental and emotional part of it [caught up with her].
“But that second set the way she got it into the tiebreak, she was right there, and if Sabalenka had cracked at all I think she would have had an incredible chance to win her first major, so there are plenty of positives that Amanda Anisimova can take from this.”
Anisimova does indeed deserve huge praise for her latest Grand Slam efforts, and indeed her major season in general.
She did suffer a disappointing second round exit at the Australian Open, which was followed by a fourth round exit at the French Open.
But a fantastic recovery arrived with her runner-up finish at Wimbledon, now followed by a second near miss at the US Open.
The American will be desperate to finally get over the line at a Grand Slam, and it would be foolish to rule that out in the very near future.
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