Aryna Sabalenka will lock horns against Jessica Pegula in the final of the 2024 US Open.
Belarusian tennis star Aryna Sabalenka has left behind the likes of Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner, and Carlos Alcaraz with an average forehead topspin speed of 80 MPH at the US Open.
Alcaraz is the nearest to the three-time Grand Slam champion with an average speed of 79 MPH. Jannik Sinner, on the other, had an average forehead topspin speed of 78 MPH. Behind Alcaraz and Sinner, 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic recorded an average forehead speed of 76 MPH at US Open 2024.
Sabalenka recently beat Jessica Pegula to lift her maiden US Open title, making her a three-time Grand Slam champion. The 26-year-old, who also bagged her second Australian Open title earlier this year, became the first woman in Open Era to win the Australian Open and US Open titles in the same season since Angelique Kerber in 2016.
The Belarusian, who struggled with injuries and poor form post her Australian Open 2024 triumph, re-discovered herself during the North American swing. En route the title at Flushing Meadows, she dropped only a single set, which happened in the third round against Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia.
Sabalenka missed the Wimbledon Championships and the Paris Olympics due to a rare shoulder pain. Additionally, she lost to Iga Swiatek in the final of the Madrid Open and the Rome Masters. However, making a stellar return to the hardcourt, she won the Cincinnati Masters without dropping a single set.
At the Flushing Meadows, Sabalenka took down Emma Navarro and Qinwen Zheng in the semifinals and the quarterfinals, respectively, to secure a spot in the final for a second consecutive year. In the championship match, she defeated Jessica Pegula, who was playing her first Grand Slam final.
Pegula won the Canadian Open and reached the final of the Cincinnati Masters, eventually losing to Sabalenka. The 30-year-old defeated Iga Swiatek and Karolina Muchova in the quarterfinals and semifinals to reach the summit clash.
This is a WILD stat 😳
(h/t @kendallbaker) pic.twitter.com/8yXE2aHLVq
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) September 5, 2024
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