Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus. File
| Photo Credit: Getty Images via AFP
It has been more than a decade since the U.S. Open had a repeat women’s champion, but World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka heads into her title defence at Flushing Meadows aiming to buck that trend.
“My thought is to change that,” said the Belarusian star ahead of the season’s final Grand Slam beginning in New York on Sunday (August 24, 2025).
“But, wow, that’s insane, you know, how unpredictable women’s tennis is, right? Should we change it? Should we try at least to change it?”
The last woman to win back-to-back US Open titles was Serena Williams, who won three in a row from 2012 through 2014.
Sabalenka said the pressure to repeat at a Slam is intense, but magnified in the boisterous atmosphere. “I think it’s a lot of pressure, definitely,” she said. “Just because this place is so big, and it feels bigger than the other Slams in some ways.
“Maybe every time defending champions come and they put so much pressure on themselves.
“But I feel like I’m experienced enough to just focus on myself and try to replicate that result.”
Sabalenka said she’s hoping she can call on the “tough lessons” she learned this year to pull off the repeat — and retain the number one ranking that is under threat if she doesn’t.
She fell in the Australian Open final in an agonising end to a bid for a historic three-peat in Melbourne.
A French Open final loss and a semifinal exit at Wimbledon followed.
Published – August 24, 2025 05:42 am IST