Aryna Sabalenka has enjoyed a really impressive year thus far, but inexplicably has no Grand Slam titles to show for her excellence.
That is not for the want of trying though, having reached the finals of the Australian and French Open, and the semi-finals of Wimbledon too.
Alas, on each occasion she fell short, with her Parisian collapse perhaps the most disappointing of the lot.
After all, having stolen the first set in swirling conditions on Philippe Chatrier, she completely collapsed as the wind picked up and her opponent locked in. This culminated in one of the most dramatic post-match interviews ever, in which Sabalenka’s comments about Coco Gauff drew huge scrutiny.
This was not the first time that an adversity beyond her control had derailed a major final, as she also fell apart in the 2023 US Open final against that same young American, this time pressured by the crowd’s one-sided support.
How Aryna Sabalenka reacted to losing the 2023 US Open final to Coco Gauff
Speaking after that defeat, the Belarusian did not hesitate to blame herself for being unable to rise to the occasion of trying to overcome both Gauff and the US Open crowd.
In fact, she even insisted: “Well, I wouldn’t say that I was playing against the crowd.
“I got a lot of support messages from people, from here, from New York, so I knew that they — I mean, how can they support me more than her? Of course they’re going to support her.
“She’s 19 years old, playing the final of a Grand Slam. That’s just unbelievable. She actually made history. I kind of, like, expected this. I mean, I didn’t play against them.”
In fact, she even argued that this should have affected Gauff more than it did herself, continuing: “I would say that sometimes this kind of, like, support can put a lot of pressure on the player whom they are supporting. And it’s kind of like it was pressure on her in the beginning.
“It’s just me, I didn’t finish important points, meaning, like, I made these unforced errors there. Yeah, of course, I gave them the energy.
“They start to be louder. She started to feel a little bit better on court, so yeah.”
Ironically, one pundit thinks Sabalenka is developing one weapon that could help her beat Gauff going forwards.
Fortunately, a year later, she would silence that same Arthur Ashe crowd by humbling a different American in the 2024 final.
Aryna Sabalenka was totally dominant during the 2024 US Open campaign
Having just beaten Emma Navarro in the semi-finals to reach a second-straight US Open final, Sabalenka made a startling claim about the crowd that shows her shift in both opinions and mindset on this atmosphere.
The 27-year-old claimed: “Today wasn’t that crazy, actually.
“They were loud, but during the point they were respectful and chill. Last year, they were just super loud, during the point, and it was so loud that it was blocking my ears, so that was so much pressure.
| Event | Year | Winner | Runner-up |
| French Open | 2025 | Coco Gauff | Aryna Sabalenka |
| Australian Open | 2025 | Madison Keys | Aryna Sabalenka |
| US Open | 2024 | Aryna Sabalenka | Jessica Pegula |
| Australian Open | 2024 | Aryna Sabalenka | Qinwen Zheng |
| US Open | 2023 | Coco Gauff | Aryna Sabalenka |
“The mistake was that I was focusing on myself but I didn’t think she is actually on the same court, feeling the same loudness from the crowd and we are all in the same conditions.
“Yes, they are cheering for her, but how can they help her to win that match? Only if I let them get into my head, and only if I am going to lose myself and get crazy. Yeah, the trickiest is the loudness and how loud they can be in the stadium.”
Her maturity and evolution as a player have been evident to see, even if she has no Grand Slam titles to show for it in 2025.
However, it would be unwise to bet against her in New York, regardless of her form heading into the event.
