Sabalenka keeps cool to retain US Open title

Aryna Sabalenka is the first woman to retain the US Open title since Serena Williams in 2014

US Open 2025

Venue: Flushing Meadows, New York Dates: 24 August-7 September

Coverage: Live radio commentaries across 5 Live Sport and BBC Sounds, plus live text commentaries on the BBC Sport website & app

World number one Aryna Sabalenka battled past home hope Amanda Anisimova to retain her US Open title and finally secure her first Grand Slam trophy of the year.

Sabalenka maintained a steadier level to win 6-3 7-6 (7-3) in a battle between two of the biggest ball-strikers in the women's game.

The Belarusian dropped to her knees, overcome with emotion, after securing victory in a year where she had suffered defeat in two Grand Slam finals.

Victory did not come without some tension, however.

Defending champion Sabalenka was unable to serve out the match at 5-4, but recovered to dominate the tie-break and seal victory on her third championship point.

The 27-year-old has again been the WTA Tour's most dominant player this season, but questions had been raised about her emotional composure in the latter stages of the majors.

Sabalenka answered her critics in the final major of the season with a largely assured performance to claim her fourth Grand Slam singles title.

Instead, it was American eighth seed Anisimova who paid the price for not being able to maintain a consistent level.

The 24-year-old produced a better performance than her first major final - when she was thrashed 6-0 6-0 by Poland's Iga Swiatek at Wimbledon in July - but was left in tears after again coming up short.

Experience proves key for Sabalenka

The relief shown by Sabalenka after securing victory was the product of falling short earlier this year.

At the Australian Open, the two-time defending champion could not cope with Madison Keys' destructive power, then she lost to Coco Gauff in the French Open showpiece after clubbing 70 unforced errors.

Sabalenka fell a stage earlier at Wimbledon, unable to match Anisimova's bravery in their semi-final.

This time, after a few histrionics early on, Sabalenka locked in and was smart tactically to avenge her defeat at the All England Club eight weeks ago.

"After two finals where I completely lost control of my emotions, I didn't want to let that to happen again," Sabalenka told ESPN.

"There were some moments where I was close to letting it go, but I kept calm."

Sabalenka's game plan was to absorb Anisimova's pace and force her opponent into mistakes.

Anisimova's experience against Swiatek was a chastening one, overcome by nerves and too frozen to change tack in the biggest beating in over a century.

Coming through that experience has made her stronger, but there were still visible signs of tension throughout an absorbing final in New York.

Anisimova hit seven double faults - although she later blamed the floodlights of the Arthur Ashe Stadium roof - while 22 winners were outweighed by 29 unforced errors.

"It's been a great summer. Losing two finals in a row is great but also super hard," said Anisimova.

"I didn't fight hard enough for my dreams today."

Ball-bashing and fluctuations - how the final unfolded

Anisimova has a no-frills game - all power and no subtlety, she looked to use that to blow Sabalenka off the court.

The fluctuations, though, were too much and ultimately the reason behind another emotional Grand Slam defeat.

Anisimova came out firing and bludgeoned her flat groundstrokes as she went for the margins.

It created three break points in the first game before Sabalenka recovered to hold and break for 2-0, but cracking more winners enabled Anisimova to turn the deficit into moving a break up at 3-2.

However, the nerves returned when she found herself out in front.

The groundstrokes became looser as she could not consolidate, then threw in a shocking service game with two double faults for 5-3.

Sabalenka, also prone to shifts in her level, remained the steadier to take the lead.

While the crowd continued to provide encouragement, Anisimova cut an exasperated figure as she toiled in her opening service games of the second set.

The pressure told as she fell 2-1 behind, Anisimova first slamming a ball high into the air before covering her face with a towel.

The atmosphere flattened among the partisan 25,000 fans, but the mood changed when Anisimova broke back to force a tie-break.

Sabalenka's record this year in tie-breakers has been formidable and her confidence showed as she forged a decisive lead before winning her 19th breaker in a row.

"I know how hard these finals hurt," said Sabalenka. "But you will enjoy it more after these tough losses."