US Open: Sabalenka’s time to step up?

After a semifinal loss to Amanda Anisimova at Wimbledon, Aryna Sabalenka was asked how she assessed her Grand Slam season.

From the outside, in many ways it’s been exceptional. The world No.1 has maintained her consistency on the biggest stages by reaching back-to-back finals at the Australian Open and Roland Garros, before her trip to the last four at the All England Club.

She’s already won 17 Grand Slam matches in 2025 – just one shy of her 2024 tally, which was boosted by two major titles.

Yet it has delivered heartbreak too. Sabalenka was mere games away from claiming a historic Australian Open three-peat – she was pipped by a red-hot Madison Keys – then came unstuck from a set up against Coco Gauff in a gnarly French final.

Sabalenka chose to view her campaign positively, believing her loss to Anisimova – a match during which she led by a break early in the third set – would only serve to fuel her in future.

“I think that's impressive. I'm already qualified for [the WTA Finals in] Riyadh. We are … kind of like in the middle of the season. I already qualified. Never happened before,” she said.

“I think even though I lost a lot of finals, I lost tough matches at the Slams this year, I still think that the consistency I was able to bring till this moment, it's impressive. Still a lot of things to be proud of. 

“This experience shows that next year I'm only hungrier and angrier. These tough defeats help me to come back much stronger.

“I have huge hopes for the next year.”

Before next season arrives, however, Sabalenka has one final opportunity to cap her Grand Slam season on the ultimate high.

It comes at the US Open, where she is the defending champion and has not fallen before the semifinals since 2020.

Sabalenka has won 23 of her past 26 matches in New York. A a first-round win in 2025 would make it her most successful Grand Slam event in terms of total matches won and winning percentage.

Still almost 4000 points clear of world No.2 Iga Swiatek, Sabalenka is expected to maintain her grip on the top ranking, regardless of how she performs at Flushing Meadows.

But it might feel slightly hollow to hold it without a Grand Slam title in her 52-week points tally – something that hasn’t occurred since Simona Halep was ranked No.1 in May 2018.

Sabalenka will fancy her chances to prevent that situation occurring at the US Open, given her hardcourt prowess.

She is the game’s leading player on the surface, a winner of three of the past five hardcourt majors. She also reached both finals of this year’s Sunshine Double, from which she emerged triumphant in Miami.  

There’s levels to this 😮‍💨@SabalenkaA | #CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/BqIeCARADl

— wta (@WTA) August 14, 2025

In the past 12 months on hard courts, she has won 43 of 50 matches and reached six finals, of which she won four.

After skipping the WTA 1000 event in Montreal, Sabalenka honed her game in Cincinnati where she became the first player to register 50 wins on the WTA Tour this year following her victory over Jessica Bouzas Maneiro in the fourth round.

It marked the third straight season she notched 50 or more wins.

While her title defence ended in the quarterfinals against Elena Rybakina, she picked up three valuable match wins.

Rejuvenated following a post-Wimbledon break, it bodes well for the US Open, where she looks to cement her dominance at the top of the women's game.