Final: Aryna Sabalenka vs. Amanda Anisimova
Arthur Ashe Stadium — 4 p.m. ET
- Saturday's women's singles final will see a world No. 1 playing for her first Grand Slam title of the season and an American bidding for the first major crown of her career.
- Aryna Sabalenka is determined to live up to her No. 1 ranking by finishing first in Flushing for the second straight year. While she boasts a 23-3 record at the majors this season, she is still in search of her fourth Slam title. Her deep runs at the previous three majors were all ended by Americans: She lost to Madison Keys in the Australian Open final, Coco Gauff in the Roland Garros final, and Anisimova in the Wimbledon semis.
- New Jersey's Anisimova advanced to her first major final with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 win against Sabalenka in the London semifinals, a result that improved her to 6-3 in their head-to-head. The American leads her rival 3-2 in their major meetings and 2-1 on hard courts.
- Both finalists battled back from a set down in the semifinals to reach the title round. Sabalenka was a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 winner against Jessica Pegula, before Anisimova edged Naomi Osaka, 6-7(4), 7-6(3), 6-3.
- Sabalenka enters the final on 99 Grand Slam wins. The defending champ is contesting her 30th major main draw and her seventh Slam final, including three in a row at the US Open. Her 55 tour-level wins pace the WTA Tour this season.
- In her second consecutive major final, Anisimova has an immediate opportunity to flip the crushing 6-0, 6-0 defeat she suffered against Iga Swiatek in the Wimbledon title match.
- For Anisimova, a lot has changed from the London lawns to the hard floors of Flushing: "I feel like the last few weeks it's been a bit of a different feeling," she said of her approach in New York. "I feel like when I was at Wimbledon, every single match was kind of like a surprise to me. I was, like, shocked with every match that I won."
- Sabalenka has her own axe to grind in the final, after falling short in her two previous major title tilts this season: “I badly wanted to give myself another opportunity, another final, and I want to prove to myself that I learned those tough lessons and I can do better in the finals,” she said after booking her ticket to the Saturday showcase.
- Regardless of the final result, Sabalenka will maintain her status as the world No. 1, while Anisimova will leave New York with a new career-high ranking of No. 4.
