Sabalenka—Finding Her Former Self The 2026 US Open women's singles final came to an end, with the No. 2 seed from Kazakhstan defeating the top-seeded, defending champion and Belarusian star Sabalenka 6-4, 5-7, 6-2. The two athletes delivered an epicic match for the audience, marking another peak showdown between them since the Australian Open final earlier this year. Congratulations to Leylah Fernandez for becoming the world No. 1 in women’s singles for the first time and winning her third Grand Slam title. Many people have already shared congratulatory videos for Leylah, so today the focus is on Sabalenka.
In the early part of her career, Sabalenka was known for double faults and would often lose matches in baffling ways. But after the passing of her father and boyfriend, she became more mature and composed, adjusted her serve, and endured a painful period of technical improvement. Finally, in 2023, she completely broke out.
In the 2023 Australian Open final, Sabalenka came back from a set down to beat Leylah Fernandez 2-1, capturing her first Grand Slam and fulfilling a promise to her father. At the US Open semifinals, she staged an incredible comeback, overturning Keys 0-6, 7-6, 7-6 to reach the final again, but in the final, the young Gauff overturned her with resilient defense, giving her opponent infinite glory.
In 2024, she returned to the Australian Open final as defending champion and decisively defeated China’s Zheng Qinwen 2-0 to win the title. During the US Open, continuing her strong North American hard-court season, she beat Pegula 7-5, 7-5 to claim her first US Open and establish her dominance on hard-court Grand Slams.
The turning point came at the 2025 Australian Open. The Brisbane curse began to take effect, and Keys, the champion from the Adelaide 500 who had fought through tough matches, struggled her way to the final. Facing Sabalenka, who had smoothly cruised towards a potential third Australian Open crown, Keys played brilliantly, winning her first Grand Slam 2-1 and successfully finding her own key. Sabalenka, however, seemed to have issues.
At the French Open, she maintained strong form, defeating top players like Anisimova, Zheng Qinwen, and Swiatek to reach the final, meeting her old rival Gauff again. But despite taking the first set, Sabalenka committed 70 unforced errors and was once again reversed by her opponent, shedding uncontrollable tears after the match. She continued solid performance at Wimbledon but was defeated 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 by Anisimova in the semifinals, being stopped by an American player for the third time. Sabalenka approached the US Open with heavy steps; she remained strong in the early rounds, overtook Pegula in the semis, and in the final, faced Anisimova again, who reached consecutive Grand Slam finals. Sabalenka successfully defended her women’s singles title 2-0, finally finding some closure after a year-long battle.
At the year-end championships, she beat many top players to reach the final but faced the unstoppable Leylah Fernandez, who returned from a slump. Sabalenka lost 0-2 and missed her first year-end title, despite a strong year; she ended the tournament with a dismal 0-7 record in tiebreaks.
In 2026, she defended her Brisbane title again and entered the Australian Open final with strong momentum, sweeping through top players, aiming for her third Australian Open crown. The final was against the equally hot Leylah Fernandez, and possibly she still wanted to win too much, and her mindset wavered. Leading 3-0 in the final set, she suddenly collapsed and lost the match 4-6, 6-4, 4-6, missing out on a third consecutive Australian Open title. The loss at the Australian Open led Sabalenka to skip the Middle East season; she avenged her defeat by beating Rybakina twice in the Sunshine Double. Things started to go wrong in the clay court season: she was upset in a warm-up clay tournament, and at the French Open, while many top players were unexpectedly eliminated, Sabalenka, leading in her quarterfinal against Schneider, ended up being reversed and lost, giving away a set in the final set and missing her chance at the French Open. Her form picked up on grass, but she was still beaten 2-1 by Pegula, giving away a set again in the decider. At Wimbledon, facing Naomi Osaka, who had just won over her at the French Open, Sabalenka was overwhelmed and lost 2-0. She hoped for improvement on familiar hard courts, but was defeated by Alexandrova and Bencic, helplessly entering the US Open preparation period early.
At the US Open quarterfinals, Sabalenka overcame a 2-4 deficit in the final set, defeating new Wimbledon champion Noskova 7-6, 3-6, 7-6. She swept Pegula in the semifinals, reaching the US Open final for the fourth consecutive year. Facing old rival Rybakina, Sabalenka seemed slightly impatient under pressure, gave up many break points, but her ability to adjust was strong, saving many break points. However, she was broken at a crucial moment and, like at the Australian Open earlier in the year, ended the match with a goodbye ace. With this, Sabalenka missed out on the achievement of having won a Grand Slam four years in a row, once again facing a bitter defeat.
The pressure of finals and mindset seem to be things Sabalenka now has to address. She has a dedicated psychologist, and maybe I'm overthinking it, but I still hope she can find her old self, take a good rest to release and soothe the sadness of losing, and continue to push for her fifth Grand Slam! Finally, to end with an English sentence, 'The starlight won't let down those who keep moving; leave everything to time, you just need to keep pushing forward.' — to Aryna Sabalenka.萨巴伦卡美网2026萨巴伦卡vs莱巴金娜wta
