Aryna Sabalenka Dominates to Reach Fourth Consecutive US Open Final

Aryna Sabalenka is back on the big New York stage, and she’s arriving with a streak, a snarl, and a sense of inevitability.

The defending US Open champion bullied her way into a fourth consecutive final at Flushing Meadows on Thursday night, dismantling home favourite Jessica Pegula 7-5 6-2 with a performance that grew more ruthless with every game.

She has now won 20 matches in a row at this tournament. In this city, on this court, she simply does not back down.

Sabalenka bends, then takes control

For a while, though, it looked like Sabalenka might let the moment get to her.

The opening set crackled with tension. Sabalenka’s shoulders tightened, her racket absorbed the brunt of her frustration as unforced errors spilled off the strings. Pegula, 32 and still chasing a first major, settled more quickly, striking cleanly, feeding off a partisan Arthur Ashe crowd desperate for an American finalist.

Sabalenka bristled. Pegula looked composed. The margins were fine.

But when the set reached its sharp edge at 6-5, the four-time major singles champion did what champions do. She found her range, stepped inside the baseline, and ripped through the Pegula serve to snatch the opener. One decisive game, one brutal shift in momentum.

From there, the match turned.

The second set became a statement. Sabalenka unleashed, flattening forehands, driving backhands deep, taking time away from Pegula with every thunderous strike. Pegula, who had outplayed Sabalenka in Berlin earlier this year, suddenly looked stranded, unable to hold back the tide.

Sabalenka finished with 29 winners to Pegula’s 12, a raw illustration of the gap once she hit full gear. The scoreline – 7-5 6-2 – felt almost generous to the American by the end.

“I was so desperate to win, I wanted it badly,” Sabalenka admitted afterwards. “No complaints, I am super happy to pull out such good tennis.”

A familiar rivalry, a familiar outcome

For Pegula, this stage and this opponent are becoming a painful pattern.

She arrived as the only semi-finalist without a Grand Slam title and left with another stinging reminder of just how high the final step remains. Sabalenka beat her in last year’s US Open semi-finals. She then denied her a maiden major in this year’s final in New York. This was another chance, another crack at a long-time rival.

Again, Sabalenka slammed the door.

“Last time I played against Jessica, it was almost impossible for me to get the win,” Sabalenka said, referencing her loss to the American in June’s Berlin Open. This time, under the lights and with history in reach, there was no such doubt.

Pegula’s consistency has made her a fixture in the latter stages of majors. Against this version of Sabalenka, it wasn’t enough.

Chasing Serena’s shadow

Sabalenka will hand over the world number one ranking on Monday, with Elena Rybakina set to replace her at the top. It hardly seemed to bother her. The bigger prize is still out there.

Victory on Saturday would give the Belarusian a third straight US Open title, a feat only Serena Williams and Chris Evert have managed in the Open era. That is the company she is now chasing.

She has not lost a match at Flushing Meadows since the 2023 final against Coco Gauff. Every hard-court major since the 2023 Australian Open has featured Sabalenka in the final, and this latest run sets a new Open era record for consecutive Grand Slam hard-court finals.

This is her surface. This is her stage.

The route to New York, though, was anything but smooth. After her blazing “Sunshine Double” at Indian Wells and Miami in March, Sabalenka stumbled. A quarter-final exit at Roland Garros. A fourth-round loss at Wimbledon. Questions over form, over focus, over whether the rest of the field had finally caught up.

Two weeks in New York have answered that. She has dropped just one set en route to the final. The ball is flying again. The shoulders are loose. The roar is back.

One match, and a season’s statement

Waiting for her in Saturday’s showpiece will be either Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina – the woman about to take her ranking crown – or American star Coco Gauff, the player who denied her in last year’s final.

Either opponent brings its own storyline. A clash with Rybakina would pit the new number one against the old in a hard-hitting duel for supremacy on the biggest stage. A rematch with Gauff would reopen one of the defining rivalries of the current era, with revenge and legacy all tangled together under the New York lights.

Sabalenka, though, has stripped the equation down to something simpler: one more match, one more title, one more stride into the territory once owned by Serena and Evert.

She has been the constant presence in hard-court finals. Now comes the question that will define her season: can she turn this relentless run into the year-ending Grand Slam crown she craves?