World No.1 Proves Mettle as Sabalenka Wins US Open Final

Aryna Sabalenka crowned her season with a hard-earned US Open triumph, overcoming American Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 7-6 (7-3) in Saturday’s final at Flushing Meadows, Sport360NG reports.

The world number one collapsed to her knees at match point, her face buried in her hands, the release of emotion reflecting months of near misses and heavy expectations. Despite dominating the WTA Tour throughout 2025, she had until now been without a Grand Slam title this year.

“This one feels different. I had to push through a lot to get here,” said the 27-year-old Belarusian, champagne bottle in hand as she addressed reporters. “With the work we’ve put in, I knew I deserved to finish the year with a Slam.”

A Different Kind of Performance

Sabalenka’s Grand Slam pedigree had been questioned after defeats in the Australian Open and French Open finals, and a semi-final stumble at Wimbledon against the same opponent she faced in New York. Against Anisimova this time, however, she delivered a more composed and measured performance, limiting errors and keeping her emotions under control.

“When I fell to the court, it was because it meant so much to defend this title and to prove I can handle the big moments,” she said.

Fresh Influence, Same Core Team

Her long-standing team, led by coach Anton Dubrov, hitting partner Andrei Vasilevski, and fitness coach Jason Stacy, has long been the backbone of her success. But ahead of the final major of the year, Sabalenka added former doubles great Max Mirnyi as a second coach.

Mirnyi stressed the importance of fine-tuning, not overhauling, her game. “She wasn’t broken, she’s the world’s best player. It was about adding variety, being more dominant on serve, finishing points at the net,” he told BBC Sport.

Finding Calm Off the Court

Part of Sabalenka’s turnaround came away from tennis. A holiday in Mykonos after Wimbledon offered a chance for reflection, while a book on balancing mind and heart helped her approach pressure points with more clarity.

“I realised I had been leaning too much on my psychologist. I needed to learn how to figure things out myself,” she said. “That book really helped me stay focused on the right things.”

Proof of Growth

Known for her fiery outbursts on court, Sabalenka showed restraint in key moments of the final. At 5-4 in the second set, she netted a simple overhead, a mistake that once would have triggered frustration. Instead, she managed a wry smile, reset, and pushed through to close out the win in a tie-break.

Sabalenka has now reached 12 semi-finals in her last 13 majors, but she admitted three titles from that run left her unsatisfied. This latest triumph, however, underscores both her consistency and her evolution.

“We’re not robots,” Mirnyi reflected. “Tennis isn’t about perfection. It’s about being good when it matters. And Aryna was exactly that today.”