NEW YORK -- By now, Aryna Sabalenka knows the drill. Win a Grand Slam, fall to the ground in celebration, do a speech, talk to the media, pick a dress and get your hair done, and strike a victory pose with a gaggle of photographers.
But this one hits different.
After holding off No.6 Jessica Pegula on Saturday night to win her first US Open and third career Grand Slam title, Sabalenka could not stop crying. They were tears of joy, relief, and most surprisingly to her, pride.
"That's why I'm I'm telling you that this one is very special," Sabalenka said on the WTA Insider Podcast, "because of so many things I had to overcome in the past and especially this season and still be able to compete on my highest level and to get this beautiful trophy.
"It's even sweeter because after you're fighting something on and off the court and facing so many challenges and at the end you're you're still getting this trophy."
Sabalenka joined the WTA Insider Podcast after her media rounds were completed. In a small green room under Arthur Ashe Stadium, she had been trying on different dresses for her various shoots over the next days and getting ready for her Champion's Photo, for which she chose a bold red dress.
Listen to the full interview on the WTA Insider Podcast below:
It's all the start of a victory lap that Sabalenka is happy to lean into, all while knowing there's still work to be done. She leaves New York just 409 points behind Iga Swiatek in the PIF Race to the WTA Finals. Her outstanding summer, which netted her 3,410 points from Washington D.C. through New York, has tightened up the battle for year-end No.1.
Last year, Sabalenka left New York as the new No.1 before Swiatek overtook her in the last match of the season by sweeping the WTA Finals.
Could it come down to the last match again this year? Swiatek and Sabalenka have secured their qualifying spots for Riyadh.
"I'm still hungry, for sure," Sabalenka said. "Another goal for sure is to try to become World No.1 again. But I don't want to talk about this goal. I'm just trying to keep improving myself and keep getting better every day.
"But now I'll definitely have some days off so I can just enjoy this win and I can switch off and forget about tennis for a little bit. So I'll keep this freshness till the end of the season. Six weeks is not that much."
