From despair to the threshold of history, New York saves “queen” Sabalenka once again

Aryna Sabalenka confessed to being in a state of desperation due to her mid-season slump. Nevertheless, her resurgence at the 2026 US Open has put the world’s top player within reach of a historic three-peat.

The 7-5, 6-2 victory over Jessica Pegula not only sent Aryna Sabalenka into the US Open final for the fourth consecutive time. More importantly, it confirmed that the world number one has truly overcome a long period of instability that lasted for months.

Sabalenka started the season impressively by winning the Indian Wells and Miami double in March. However, she did not reach any further finals before arriving at Flushing Meadows, which raised increasing doubts about her form.

“I was really desperate. I lost to Jess in a tough grass-court match and didn’t perform well in the middle of the season” Sabalenka admitted.

The defeat mentioned by the Belarusian player took place in Berlin three months ago. Therefore, beating Pegula herself in New York made her feel the change within her even more clearly.

Sabalenka regards the US Open as the last opportunity to salvage her Grand Slam journey this season. That desire helped her enter each match with a completely different mindset.

“For me, this is like the final push of the season when it comes to Grand Slams. I really want to reach the final and of course want to go all the way”, Sabalenka said.

Apart from determination, Sabalenka believes that the energy in New York played a key role in her comeback. This is also where the world number one won her most recent Grand Slam title.

“I love New York. I love playing here and I love the energy of this city. It inspires me and pushes me to keep moving forward”, she shared.

Reaching the US Open final for the fourth consecutive time also allowed Sabalenka to extend her streak of eight straight hard-court Grand Slams in which she contested the title match, starting from the 2023 Australian Open.

Now, she is just one match away from winning her third straight US Open title. After months of struggling to find herself, Sabalenka has stepped to the doorstep of history in her best condition.

“I feel confident. Right now, I am truly strong both mentally and physically”, the Belarusian player affirmed.