Aryna Sabalenka defeats American Pegula to capture 1st-ever U.S. Open title

Aryna Sabalenka got past Jessica Pegula 7-5, 7-5 in a rollicking U.S. Open women's final Saturday to win her first championship at Flushing Meadows and third Grand Slam title of her career.

Sabalenka, a 26-year-old from Belarus, adds this trophy to the two she earned at the Australian Open each of the past two seasons, also on hard courts. And the victory allowed her to leave Arthur Ashe Stadium in a far better mood than when she was the runner-up to Coco Gauff at the 2023 U.S. Open.

Pegula, a native New Yorker whose parents own the NFL's Buffalo Bills and NHL's Buffalo Sabres, was participating in a major final for the first time. She's won 15 of her past 17 matches over the past month but both losses came against Sabalenka in tournament finals.

The No. 2-seeded Sabalenka appeared in full control when she reeled off five consecutive games to grab the opening set and move ahead 3-0 in the second, before the No. 6 Pegula made things more interesting. In the next game, Pegula dropped a point and showed her frustration by whacking a ball off the video wall behind the baseline, dislodging a little square panel.

Maybe that released some tension for the 30-year-old American, because suddenly Pegula asserted herself, using her own five-game run. But when she served at 5-4 with a chance to force a third set, Pegula let Sabalenka level the second with a break.

That was part of a three-game, match-ending surge for Sabalenka, who soon was collapsing to the court, dropping her racket and covering her face with both arms while lying on her back.

Sabalenka is as demonstrative as anyone in the sport, her body language usually a spot-on barometer of whether things are going well — or not — for her.

As she sputtered a tad at the start