Aryna Sabalenka claims 2024 US Open title, notches third Grand Slam victory over Jessica Pegula

NEW YORK—Aryna Sabalenka is officially Queen of Concrete, completing a clean sweep of hard-court major titles in 2024 with a US Open victory over Jessica Pegula, 7-5, 7-5 in Saturday’s final.

Read more: How Aryna Sabalenka brought brat summer to the 2024 US Open

The world No. 2 backed up her Australian Open win and capped a 12-match summer streak dating back to the Cincinnati Open, reeling off the final four games to defeat the No. 6 seed in one hour and 53 minutes on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Sabalenka and Pegula last met before the US Open in Cincinnati, where Sabalenka won in straight sets to increase her head-to-head edge over the American to 5-2 and claim her first title since Melbourne in January.

The former world No. 1 had endured a season of highs and lows after winning her second major title, suffering the tragic loss of ex-partner Konstantin Koltsov and enduring a shoulder injury that forced her out of Wimbledon. Skipping the Summer Olympic Games in Paris to prioritize tour events, Sabalenka slowly returned to action and was in prime form by the time she arrived in Flushing Meadows.

Dropping just one set en route to the final, Sabalenka surged past Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen in the quarterfinals and swept a second-set tiebreaker against No. 13 seed Emma Navarro to reach a second straight US Open final. After finishing runner-up to Coco Gauff 12 months ago, the 26-year-old was eager to go one better in 2024.

But first, she had to get past an inspired Pegula, who had turned her season around after an unexpected split from David Witt earlier in the year. The 30-year-old partnered Mark Knowles and Mark Merklein as she worked through a neck injury that kept her off court for most of the clay-court swing.

Competing her ninth US Open main draw, she broke her 0-6 quarterfinal curse in emphatic style earlier in the week with a straight-sets victory over world No. 1 Iga Swiatek. The National Bank Open champion and daughter of Buffalo Bills and Sabres owner Terry Pegula nearly suffered a letdown in the semifinals but roared back against an always dangerous Karolina Muchova to earn a spot in the biggest match of her career.

In a second US Open final against an American under the Ashe Stadium roof, Sabalenka had to again contend with an enthusiastically partisan crowd, one who let themselves be heard as Pegula scored the opening break of the match.

Sabalenka sought to hit through the noise as she did early against Navarro, and promptly rolled through the next four games, digging out of a long seventh game to put herself into a 5-2 lead.

Pegula ended the run of games as the match ticked past the 30-minute mark and stepped in on Sabalenka’s second serves in the next game, earning a standing ovation as she got the set back on serve.

Sabalenka looked to regain the momentum, shaking off frustration over a double fault to save break point with a backhand winner, and encouraged cheers from the crowd after a foray to net. Pegula matched Sabalenka’s play as the 11th game entered its fourth deuce but Sabalenka held on to put herself back on the precipice of the first set.

Ripping a second serve return, Sabalenka rattled Pegula into a 15-40 deficit. Pegula went on to save four set points but Sabalenka kept pressing and earned a fifth off an ill-timed double fault. As the clock struck one hour, Sabalenka secured the set off a deftly-struck drop shot.

As if a nod to the closeness of the first set, Sabalenka began the second with an ace that kissed the T and opened with a strong hold. She won a fourth straight game when Pegula double faulted down break point and consolidated with an ace to close in on the title.

With the match slipping away, Pegula fended off a break point to avoid a double break. Once on the board, Pegula put the pressure straight back on Sabalenka, reeling off five straight games to turn the match on its head.

Suddenly facing the prospect of a deciding set, Sabalenka locked down and won four straight games from 3-5 down, breaking Pegula twice to win her first US Open title in just under two hours.