Sabalenka rolled in straight sets to win her second straight US Open title, the first woman to do so since Serena Williams in 2014


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No. 1 seed Aryna Sabalenka became the first woman since Serena Williams in 2013 and 2014 to win back-to-back US Open titles on Saturday, as she cruised past No. 8 seed Amanda Anisimova in straight sets, 6-3, 7-6(3).

Sabalenka didn't seem to have her absolute A-game on Saturday, but she didn't need it as Anisimova seemed to struggle early on with the nerves of her second straight grand slam final appearance. The young American did fare better than her 6-0, 6-0 loss to Iga Swiatek in the Wimbledon final earlier in the year, but she had wayward misses, both on her serve and groundstrokes, and let herself get flustered by the little things -- including complaining to her box about not being able to see the ball on her serve toss in the lights.

The serve struggles showed most when she didn't get her first serve in, as Sabalenka pounced on her second serve and won 18-of-28 points when returning those efforts (including seven double faults from Anisimova). Beyond that, Anisimova clearly came in with a game plan to go big against the world No. 1, and that produced some brilliant winners (22 in the match) but also a number of unforced errors (29 total).

Sabalenka seemed to recognize that Anisimova was pressing early, and made an adjustment to her aggressive opponent, pushing Anisimova further back behind the baseline with her own power but not forcing the issue herself. Instead, Sabalenka leaned on her strong serve and allowed Anisimova to make the mistakes, as the world No. 1 produced 13 winners and 15 unforced errors but managed to control the match in key moments.

Anisimova did show some terrific resolve to force a second set tiebreak, picking up a late break with Sabalenka trying to serve out the match at 5-4. However, Sabalenka showed why she came into the match 20-1 in tiebreaks this season, as she quickly jumped out to a 6-1 lead before finishing it at 7-3.

With the win, Sabalenka picks up her fourth grand slam title, with all of them coming on hard courts -- two Australian Opens and two US Opens. She has now won a grand slam title in each of the past three years and will maintain her No. 1 world ranking by a sizable margin going into the 2026 season.

For Anisimova, it's another tough loss in a final, but she showed growth from her Wimbledon performance and, while the nerves were still present, showed some fantastic fight to push Sabalenka all the way to the finish.

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