No.2 seed Aryna Sabalenka captured her third Grand Slam singles title on Saturday, and her first in New York City, by holding off No.6 Jessica Pegula 7-5, 7-5 to win the 2024 US Open title.

US Open: Scores | Draw | Order of play

Under a closed Arthur Ashe Stadium roof on a rainy day, Sabalenka battled past the American hope Pegula in 1 hour and 53 minutes. 

“It’s also very special place here, the US Open,” Sabalenka said in her postmatch press conference. “I also had a lot of tough losses in the past. I was always hoping that one day I’ll be able to hold this beautiful trophy. It’s been always my dream.

“That’s why it’s very special, because no matter what, every time I was coming back stronger, and I was learning, I never gave up on this dream, and yeah, you know, it means a lot.”

Sabalenka led by a set and 3-0 before Pegula suddenly went on a five-game run and served for the second set at 5-4. Sabalenka weathered that storm to prevail and wrap up the straight-sets win.

Sabalenka, 26, dropped only one set en route to the title, to No.29 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in the third round.

Sabalenka goes one further than she did last year, exorcising some demons in the process. She also led by a set in last year’s final before finishing as runner-up to another top American, Coco Gauff.

Hard-court confidence: Sabalenka has now established herself as the current queen of the hard-court Grand Slam events. She has gone a nearly perfect 27-1 in the last four Slams on the surface, having also won the Australian Open last year and this year.

In a matchup between this summer’s two best hard-court players, it was Sabalenka who repeated her win over Pegula from the Cincinnati final three weeks ago. By backing up that title with a triumph in New York, Sabalenka is on a 12-match winning streak.

Sabalenka becomes the first player to win both hard-court Slams in the same year since Angelique Kerber in 2016. The only other women who won a pair of hard-court Slams in one calendar year during the Open Era are Stefanie Graf (1988, 1989), Monica Seles (1991, 1992) and Martina Hingis (1997).

Tale of the match: In Saturday’s first set, both competitors were dominating play on second-serve return, and Sabalenka failed to serve out the opener at 5-4. Sabalenka quashed a potential Pegula lead by grinding out a 14-point hold for 6-5, staving off one break point in that game with a deep backhand winner.

Another elongated game followed, where Pegula fended off four set points and grabbed a game point after a strong serve. But Sabalenka found a drop volley winner at the end of a big-hitting rally to return to deuce, and she was gifted a fifth set point after a Pegula double fault. There, Sabalenka found the backhand angle to win the dramatic first set.

Despite falling behind 3-0 in the second set, Pegula was not done yet, taking charge in rallies to win the next five games. She served for the second set at 5-4, but she never got to set point, and Sabalenka crushed a backhand winner on the sideline to retain parity at 5-5.

Sabalenka held her nerve from there and dictated with her forehand on her second match point to break Pegula for the title, collapsing to the court in joy. Sabalenka’s aggressive play got her through the tough task. She had 40 winners to Pegula’s 17, and the victor won 18 of 23 points (78 percent) when she came to the net.

“I don’t know how to describe that feeling,” Sabalenka said. “You’re crying, you’re laughing, you’re just, you know, you feel all these emotions at the same time. That’s the best feeling. I really wish everyone could or can experience that.”