“I was very depressed” – Aryna Sabalenka gets honest about turning pain from her father’s death into powerful motivation after US Open triumph

Aryna Sabalenka reached another significant career milestone, as she clinched her fourth Major title at the 2025 US Open. For a third year running, she faced off against an American opponent in the final in New York, this time winning 6-3, 7-6 (3) over Amanda Anisimova.

Aryna Sabalenka was the pre-tournament favorite at Flushing Meadows this year, and the Belarusian did justice to the tag of being the top seed, as she did not drop a set in the first four rounds. After receiving a walkover in the quarterfinals, she had to play a three-set thriller against Jessica Pegula in a rematch of last year’s final, before triumphing over Anisimova in the final, who has a winning head-to-head record against the World No.1.

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After her win, Sabalenka spoke about her father, Sergey, during her post-match press conference, stating that even though her father's passing away in 2019 was heartbreaking for her, she used it to motivate herself to put her family name in the history books of the sport.

"When he passed away, I was very depressed. But I decided to take it as motivation to put our family name in history. I think I feel his protection from up there." said Sabalenka

This was the fourth title for Aryna Sabalenka this year, who has reached eight finals this year, and has won previous titles in Brisbane, Miami, and Madrid.

Aryna Sabalenka ends a tremendous Grand Slam season with a title

Aryna Sabalenka finished with a 23-3 win-loss record at the Grand Slams this year, winning the final Major of the season in New York. The Belarusian began the Grand Slam season with a final run in Melbourne for the third straight time, but could not complete a hat-trick of titles, as she lost against Madison Keys in the summit clash in an epic three-set final.

Sabalenka yet again reached a Major final at the French Open, with dominant wins, dethroning three-time defending champion Iga Swiatek in the semifinal, but came unstuck against Coco Gauff in the final. She reached the semifinal at Wimbledon, but lost another close three-set match to another American opponent, Amanda Anisimova.

Coming into the US Open, Sabalenka had a danger of putting together one of the best Grand Slam seasons without winning a Major, but she ended up dismissing the fact as she faced another American opponent, which has been the case for her in her last four Major finals. In a Wimbledon rematch against Anisimova, the Belarusian came up trumps, ending the Grand Slam season on a triumphant note.

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SAGNIK DATTA

Sagnik, a Mass Communication and Journalism graduate, is a tennis journalist at Sportskeeda. Before finding his spot in the tennis writing team, he worked as a junior content specialist for academic content writing firms for a couple of years.

Before putting out any information in the public domain, Sagnik makes sure that every element of his content is well-researched and backed with credible data so that there is no misinterpretation of facts or quotes and ethical standards are maintained. To do so, Sagnik follows reputed websites like the Tennis Channel and Tennis TV, and renowned journalists on social media.

He is a fan of former player Roger Federer, and just like his favorite player, Sagnik likes to bring perfection to his write-ups by providing concise and on-point content. Speaking of the ‘GOAT’ debate, Sagnik believes that it is a bit unfair to compare the legends of the game from different eras who have played on different terms. But if he were to pick one, he’d go for Novak Djokovic based on his tally of 24 Grand Slam titles.

When not writing about tennis and technically analyzing the sport, which he believes are his 'forte', Sagnik indulges in reading books.

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