WTA US Open Final: Sabalenka Mounts Title Defense Against First-Time Challenger Anisimova
by Geoffrey Ejiga | by Geoffrey Ejiga
Aryna Sabalenka Mounts Title Defense as She Marks Third Final Appearance in a Row
Is it really any surprise that the current World No.1 made it all the way to the WTA US Open final? Not really. But that should take anything away from Aryna Sabalenka, who's been more than exceptional all year to reach her third tournament final in three years, after winning her first trophy just last year.
Sabalenka’s current dominance, which has seen her absolutely tear through this tournament and record 25 wins in her last 30 games, already makes her the favorite in her Anisimova matchup. However, looking at the H2Hs, our SportyTrader experts in the Sabalenka vs Anisimova prediction say a walk in the park for world No.1 wouldn't be so straight forward.
After all, these two tennis stars have met nine times, and Anisimova has won six of their matches, including a victory just last month on grass and also their last hardcourt meeting in the 2024 WTA Toronto 1000.
Still, Sabalenka is out for blood and may as well hold a psychological advantage as the current title holder and first player to make three finals in a row since Serena Williams (who made four final appearances in a row and won the last three).
Amanda Anisimova Eyes First USA Open Title Against World No.1
If there's any player deserving of a final spot in this year’s edition of the WTA US Open final, it's Amanda Anisimova. She’s even faced a far tougher lineup of opponents than Sabalenka. On her road to the final, Anisimova had to beat legends like Naomi Osaka in the semi-final right after knocking out world No.2 Iga Swiatek 2-0 in the quarter-final. Anisimova did all this while dropping two sets, with one understandably coming against Osaka.
Now she's made her first WTA US Open final appearance, and in all honesty, Anisimova winning it wouldn't be shocking despite the best betting odds heavily favoring her opponent. Although Aryna Sabalenka’s title defense is expected to be as fierce as they come, Anisimova is an opponent who's consistently gotten the best of the world No.1, even in recent times.
Anisimova leads their H2H 6-3, and has won their last game played (a quarter-final on grass) in July plus two of their only three matchups on hardcourt. That quarter-final victory was one of many victories Anisimova picked up before losing out to Jessica Pegula 2-1 in the Toronto 1000 final. Making back-to-back finals underlines Anisimova’s hunger, which might just be enough to get the better of Sabalenka once more.
