Why winning US Open means more to Sabalenka

US Open 2025

Dates: August 24 through September 7 in Flushing Meadows, New York

Aryna Sabalenka’s celebration of her most recent US Open victory is a vivid illustration of what victory means if a picture can paints a thousand words.

The stress the world number one had been experiencing summed up by the fact that she had to fall to her knees on the court, cover her face, and shake with adrenaline.

Sabalenka, 27, has again won the WTA Tour’s most dominant player this year, surpassing all other players in terms of titles, points, and titles.

Before beating Amanda Anisimova 6-3 7-6 (7-3) in the final on Saturday in New York, she had yet to win a Grand Slam title.

“This one felt different,” he said. Moments later, while clutching a champagne bottle as I entered her victory press conference, I realized I had to overcome a lot of obstacles to get it.

“I was aware that I deserved to win this year’s Grand Slam because of] the hard work we put in.”

In the run-up to the Grand Slams, questions have been raised about Sabalenka’s emotional prowess.

She delivered a mature and largely disciplined performance in their favor as Anisimova did.

It was a stark contrast to Coco Gauff’s and Madison Keys’ defeats in the Australian Open and French Open finals, respectively.

In the Wimbledon semi-finals, she lost to Anisimova, and she also learned from her mistakes.

It was because it means a lot to defend this title and to bring such great tennis, said Sabalenka, “when I fell]to the court.”

It means a lot to me to be able to handle my emotions in this final and bring the fight.

One of the things that fans of Sabalenka find appealing is wearing her heart on her sleeve.

Missed shots frequently result in frowning brows, narrowing eyes, and pursed lips. Winners are greeted with relief roars at crucial moments.

The force of Sabalenka’s team, which includes her long-time coach Anton Dubrov, hitting partner Andrei Vasilevski, and fitness instructor Jason Stacy, can be seen by her sharp stares and irate outbursts.

She thanked them for being “terrible to them” after her Melbourne and Paris losses as she clutched the US Open trophy once more, and then she expressed her love for a group she views as “family.”

The 10-time Grand Slam doubles champion Max Mirnyi, who Sabalenka hired as a backup coach before the final major of the season, and the long-time friends were present.

Mirnyi claims that the team acted on a single rule in order to win another New York title: that her game was inoperable and needed nothing to be fixed.

She is undoubtedly not broken by any means; she has consistently won the best tournaments and defeated the best players, he told BBC Sport.

It’s just a matter of evolving and enhancing her game and attempting to add various aspects.

“Maybe trying to improve her powerful groundstrokes by finishing some balls at the net,” she said, “perhaps being a little more versatile on serve and being more dominant.

She “catches on to things that I’ve mentioned and things that we’ve been working on very quickly.”

She became a Grand Slam champion after spending several years working with a psychologist, but she realized she was “relying too heavily on the expert” and wanted to figure things out more “herself.”

Further reflection on the topic was possible following a visit to the Greek island of Mykonos after World War II.

The power between the mind and the heart can be found in the reading of a friend’s recommendation.

She continued, “Reading that book, I realized a lot of things.”

Sabalenka already had three major singles victories to prove at Flushing Meadows.

In her previous 13 major appearances, she has won 12 semi-finals thanks to a machine-like consistency at the Grand Slams, which is unmatched in the women’s game.

However, it was disappointing to return three Trophäes from that run.

Everything in life fluctuates, Mirnyi continued.

We’re not robots, but we’re not machines, right? They’re still human, even though some of the professionals are good at their fields.

It is “good, but not always perfect,” he said. It’s very difficult to perfect a tennis match.

Sabalenka had to maintain her composure on the court and fight the urge to lose her composure when things didn’t go her way in the final on Saturday.

She attempted to win by 5-4 30-30 when she dumped an overhead smash into the net at a telling moment.

A typical instance of a racquet would have been a slammed against a racquet or an angry outburst.

Instead, she turned toward her team and forced a stifled smile before returning to the baseline for the final move.

There were times when I was “really close to losing control” in the first set and “at the end of the second set,” Sabalenka said.