The US Open women's singles final marked the culmination of the US Open's 50th anniversary of equal prize money celebration, commemorating Billie Jean King's pioneering efforts to make the 1973 US Open the first sporting event to pay women and men competitors equally.
Saturday in Arthur Ashe Stadium, we witnessed another historic first: Coco Gauff's maiden Grand Slam title. The 19-year-old became the first American teenager to win the US Open crown since Serena Williams in 1999.
After defeating soon-to-be world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, the American collected a $3 million champion's check.
"Thank you, Billie, for fighting for this," Gauff said before King presented her with the trophy.
On the court, Gauff had the task of fighting off a red-hot start from Sabalenka, who dictated everything in a one-sided opening set. In the face of Sabalenka's unrivaled power, Gauff turned the tide with her unrelenting court coverage. Whether she was ranging out wide to return perfectly placed serves or scrambling deep to lob back lasered groundstrokes, all those extra balls added up to a big payoff for the American.
"I knew she was going to go out there swinging, and I knew that I wasn't going to be able to win this match the way I like to play," Gauff said, alluding to her preference to control the rallies. "I don't like to play the way that I played today. Running around the court, it's fun, but, it's not as fun as hitting winners.
"I knew going into the match that was going to have to be the way I was going to have to play today against her."
Gauff still attacked at times, judiciously picking her spots, but it was her increased depth that keyed the turnaround. Her tactics were perfectly tuned by the final set, during which she hit five winners to just two errors—her steady game piling onto Sabalenka's frustration. The American raced to a 4-0 lead in the third set and closed out the match with a confident love hold. In the final game, she won three 11-ball rallies, with a backhand passing shot on match point sending her tumbling to the concrete in disbelief.
"Concrete jungle where dreams are made of," she said in her post-match presser, singing part of the chorus to Jay-Z and Alicia Keys' ode to New York City.
On Day 13 at the US Open, Gauff's triumph was not the only one to fulfill a Grand Slam dream. Let's take a trip around the grounds of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center for an executive summary of some of Saturday's other top stories.
Mixed doubles: Danilina/Heliovaara complete fairytale run
Anna Danilina and Harri Heliovaara were virtual strangers before the start of the 2023 US Open. But after a chance encounter in the referee's office, they decided to sign up to play mixed doubles.
Now, they are Grand Slam champions, both for the first time. The Kazakh-Finnish pair defeated top seeds Jessica Pegula and Austin Krajicek, 6-3, 6-4, in a noon start in Ashe.
"I would like to thank my partner. It was an amazing run. It’s been a pleasure. To many more," Danilina said in during the trophy ceremony. “This tournament ... it's been amazing every time I come here in New York. It is one of my favorite tournaments, so [I’m] hoping I come back next year and many, many more.”
Read the full match report below.
Wheelchair: Three doubles champs crowned
The doubles pairs of Stephane Houdet and Takashi Sanada (men's doubles), Niels Vink and Sam Schroder (quad doubles), and Yui Kamiji and Kgothatso Montjane (women's doubles) are all leaving the 2023 US Open Wheelchair Championships presented by Deloitte as champions.
Read our full wheelchair wrap below.
Juniors: Hui, Fonseca take singles titles
American wild card Katherine Hui defeated ninth-seeded Czech Tereza Valentova, 6-4, 6-4, to claim the 2023 US Open girls' singles title to become the first American girls' champ since Robin Montgomery in 2021. Hui is the fourth American junior to win a Grand Slam singles title since 2021 (also Liv Hovde and Clervie Ngounoue).
In the boys' singles Brazil's Joao Fonseca came from behind to beat American Learner Tien, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.
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Quote of the Day:
"[Venus and Serena Williams] are the reason why I have this trophy today, to be honest. They have allowed me to believe in this dream. Growing up, there weren't too many Black tennis players dominating the sport. It was literally, at that time when I was younger, it was just them that I can remember.
"Obviously more came because of their legacy. So it made the dream more believable. But all the things that they had to go through, they made it easier for someone like me to do this." — Coco Gauff on drawing inspritation from the Williams sisters
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That first Grand Slam feeling...
