US Open: “Mentally at the limit”: Sabalenka crowns emotional year

US Open
“Mentally at the limit”: Sabalenka crowns emotional year

Aryna Sabalenka cried in the stands in the arms of her boyfriend and repeatedly hit the lucky lion tattoo on her coach’s bald head. The Belarusian celebrated her first title win at the US Open – and in the moment of triumph she also thought emotionally about her personal fate.

“After losing my father, it was always my goal to write our family name in the history books of tennis,” said the 26-year-old after the 7:5, 7:5 thriller against American Jessica Pegula. “Every time I see my name on this trophy, I am so proud of myself, so proud of my family, that I never gave up on my dream.”

Sabalenka’s declaration of love

Her father died when Sabalenka was 21. She had promised him that she would win two Grand Slams before she turned 25. Now the two-time Australian Open winner celebrated title number three in a blue, white and red confetti shower with the longed-for silver trophy from the US Open in her arms. A year ago, she left the US Open in tears of disappointment after losing in the final to US crowd favorite Coco Gauff.

In the first rows of Arthur Ashe Stadium, her fans, including boyfriend Georgios Frangulis and fitness coach Jason Stacy, cheered. “I couldn’t imagine my life without you, I love you so much,” she said to her box. Stacy presented a large, non-permanent image of a tiger with bared teeth that he had stuck on himself as a lucky charm shortly before the match.

Sabalenka has a real tattoo of the predator on her left forearm – and she was as aggressive as ever on the court. With her powerful tennis, the 1.82 meter tall Belarusian dominated the rallies, scored many points with direct winning shots and repeatedly went successfully to the net.

Memories of 2023

But since she also made 34 minor errors, Sabalenka was once again in trouble despite a 3-0 lead in the second set. Suddenly memories of 2023 came back, when she had thrown away a set lead and thus the title in the final.

But in her first Grand Slam final, Pegula’s nerves also frayed – after the 5:3, she lost the next four games and the match. “She played great tennis in the big moments,” the 30-year-old praised her opponent and joked: “I wish she had only let me win one set.”

Numerous star guests in the audience

Unlike in 2023, however, Sabalenka withstood the pressure of the audience. Numerous prominent guests, such as Formula 1 record world champion Lewis Hamilton, Olympic sprint champion Noah Lyles and basketball superstar Stephen Curry, watched the match in the stands. The fans repeatedly encouraged the American underdog. “In the second set, I just prayed,” Sabalenka reported.

By passing the test of nerves, she temporarily crowned a season full of ups and downs. After winning the Australian Open title, she had to cope with the death of her former boyfriend Konstantin Koltsov in March of this season. “When my father died, tennis helped me to deal with this heavy loss. That’s why I thought I’d just carry on playing and separate my personal life from my career,” she told the Guardian in August. She was “emotionally and mentally at her limit,” she reported to ESPN after winning the final.

Party plan: “We’ll probably drink a lot”

But the full focus on the sport led to an overload of the body. She had to withdraw from Wimbledon due to problems with her right shoulder, and she also did not compete in the Olympics in Paris. It was only on her beloved hard court that Sabalenka returned to her old strength and became the first player since Angelique Kerber in 2016 to win both the Australian Open and the US Open in one season.

“We’ll probably drink a lot,” said Sabalenka about the plan for the party afterwards. She had an advantage over her coach Anton Dubrow. He also received a trophy, but it was much smaller. “I’ll have a serious hangover tomorrow,” said Sabalenka, looking at the capacity of the trophies, “more than you.”

dpa