Aryna Sabalenka defeated Jessica Pegula 7-5, 7-5 on Saturday in the U.S. Open final for her third Grand Slam title. It was redemption for the Belarusian tennis pro who lost last year’s final to Coco Gauff in front of a very pro-American crowd, similar to this year.
Sabalenka earned $3.6 million for the victory, which pushed her 2024 prize money to $8 million, behind only Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, who plays in the men’s final on Sunday against Taylor Fritz. Pegula earned a career-high payday of $1.8 million as runner-up and nearly doubled her 2024 winnings to $3.7 million.
Last month, Sabalenka defeated Pegula in straight sets in the final of the Cincinnati Open.
The U.S. Open was a breakthrough event for Pegula, who turned 30 in February. She has won six WTA titles but had never advanced past the quarterfinal of a Grand Slam. She was 0-6 in the final eight of major events before this week. The streak ended Wednesday night with a 6-2, 6-3 win over world No. 1, Iga Swiatek.
“I have been [to the quarterfinals] so many freakin’ times. I just kept losing,” Pegula said in her on-court post-Swiatek match interview. “Everyone keeps asking me about it, but I was like, ‘I don’t know what to do. I just need to get there again and win the match.’ Thank God I was able to do it and finally — finally — I can say, ‘semifinalist.’”
Pegula entered the U.S. Open ranked sixth in the world, and with her run to the final, she will replace Gauff as the highest-ranked American when the new rankings are released next week.
Sabalenka has emerged as the world’s best hard-court player. She only dropped one set on her way to the title, which played with the roof closed at Arthur Ashe Stadium after rain earlier in the day. It is her second slam of the year after her win on the hard courts of the Australian Open—she also won in Australia in 2023. The 26-year-old had to withdraw from Wimbledon with a shoulder injury but finished with a 18-1 record in the three other Grand Slams. Even more impressive is she lost only three of the 40 sets she played.
