On Saturday (September 6), Aryna Sabalenka successfully outdid Amanda Anisimova at the US Open to defend her women’s singles title. After her triumph, the Belarusian enjoyed a light-hearted moment during the trophy presentation as she refused to let go of her $5 million winner’s check.
Sabalenka came into the US Open as the World No.1, the defending champion and a heavy favorite for the win. She kicked off her time in New York with straight set wins in her opening rounds against Rebeka Masarova, Polina Kudermetova, Leylah Fernandez, and Cristina Bucsa. The 27-year-old received a walkover in her quarterfinals and she followed this up with a hard fought victory over Jessica Pegula in the semifinals.
On Saturday night, Aryna Sabalenka avenged her Wimbledon semifinals loss as she outdid home player Amanda Anisimova in straight sets to lift the US Open trophy. For her efforts, the Belarusian earned the biggest payday of her career and she hilariously refused to let go of her $5 million check during the trophy presentation ceremony. Watch a video of the moment below:
Trending
Aryna Sabalenka thanks US Open crowd after successfully defending her title
For Aryna Sabalenka, the US Open has always brought with it impressive results. The World No.1 made it to her first final at the Major in 2023, where she went down to Coco Gauff. In 2024, she returned to the summit clash, outdoing Jessica Pegula to win her first US Open trophy.
After successfully defending her title on Saturday, Sabalenka thanked the New York City crowd, saying in her on court interview,
“I love it. I love it here. I love the support. And, you know, like I feel like throughout the years, we guys built a kind of like relationship and you guys give me so much support. And you know,my first year here when I saw that I have to play back to back against Americans I was just like ‘no way guys, please, I just, I don't want to play’.”
“But then coming back next year and I have to play again back to back against Americans and I felt a bit more support and this year I felt even more support. So, I'm super excited to come back next year and I hope you all are going to cheer for me. Thank you. Thank you guys for bringing the best atmosphere,”she added.
With her title-finish at the US Open, Aryna Sabalenka’s 2025 Grand Slam season comes to a close on a high. Earlier this year, the Belarusian made it to back-to-back finals at the Australian Open and French Open, before notching a semifinals finish at the Wimbledon Championships.
