Sabalenka aims to end mix’n’match Open champions

Holder Aryna Sabalenka on Friday revealed her dream of imposing some order to a women’s field at the US Open, an event won by nine women over the past 10 editions.

The world No. 1 claimed the 2024 Open title and looks to try and back it up when play starts on Sundas as organisers squeeze in an additional day-full of lucrative paying customers.

Serena Williams was able to back up a trophy here, winning in 2012, 2013 and 2014. Naomi Osaka claimed a pair in 2018 and 2020.

“This is crazy. We know how unpredictable women’s tennis is, so we’ll have to work to change it,”  Sabalenka said,. 

.“My idea is to change that. I’m hopeful. I actually didn’t even know that statistic, so I’ll try to ignore it. 

“I have a lot of pressure; that’s what comes with playing in such a big venue; everything feels so much bigger. 

The second seed behind Iga Swiatek said she hopes to avoid the mistakes of  the previous away of one-time New York winners.

“Maybe this has happened to previous defending champions, who come in and put a lot of pressure on themselves. I think I have enough experience to focus on myself and then replicate that in the result.” 

Sabalenka needs a possible Open title to earn at least one Grand Slam this season after finals at Melbourne and Paris; in 2024 she won the Australian and US Opens.

But the 27-year-old refuses to worry about any consequences from missing out on a major trophy in 2025.

“Obviously, I would love to finish the season with a Grand Slam title and world No. 1.

 “If I ultimately fail to achieve this goal, I’ll still think that this season has been really good for me, especially because of all the lessons I learned over these past few months.

“They will help me be much stronger next season. I worked harder in preseason to ensure that 2026 will be an even more successful year, a truly successful year.”