Sinner and Sabalenka secure their first-place victories yet again
By Diego Cerna, sports@theaggie.org
New York City held its 144th US Open Tennis Championships from Aug. 26 to Sept. 9. The Open held multiple upsets and showcased many rising stars that make up the new generation of both men’s and women’s tennis.
For the men’s side, Italy’s No. 1-ranked Jannik Sinner defeated the United States’ No. 12-ranked Taylor Fritz in The US Open finale on Sept. 9. The 23-year-old Sinner beat the 26-year-old Fritz in three straight sets — winning 6-3, 6-4 and 7-5 — to complete a dominant tournament run.
This is Sinner’s second grand slam title of his young career. Additionally, this is also his second title of the year after beating No. 3-ranked Daniil Medvedev in the 2024 Australian Open. Sinner was ranked No. 4 at the time but has taken his place as the highest-ranked tennis player in the world after his dominant performance and back-to-back wins.
For the women’s side, Belarus’ No. 2-ranked Aryna Sabalenka defeated the United States’ No. 6-ranked Jessica Pegula on Sept. 8. The 26-year-old Sabalenka fended off the 30-year-old Buffalo native Pegula in a competitive two set match, winning 7-5 and 7-5.
This is Sabalenka’s third Slam title and first US Open win, as she won the 2023 and 2024 Australian Opens. Formerly ranked No. 1 in 2023, she has maintained her place as one of the top women’s tennis players in the world. Sabalenka has established herself as one of the most powerful players on the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) circuit, demonstrating her ability to succeed on different surfaces.
The US Open also displayed many upsets for star players. The most shocking upset may be Spain’s No. 3-ranked Carlos Alcaraz losing to the Netherlands’ Botic Van De Zandschulp in three straight sets in the second round of the tournament. Alcaraz just came off of winning silver in the 2024 Olympic Games, only coming in second to Serbia’s No. 4-ranked Novak Djokovic who won gold.
Djokovic was also caught in the upsets, as he lost to No. 28-ranked Alexi Popyrin in four sets in the third round. While this may look like a surprise on paper, some fans thought the match would be up for grabs given the competitive history of matches between Popyrin and Djokovic.
One of the closest and most exciting matches of the tournament came with the intensely awaited rematch of US tennis players No. 13-ranked Ben Shelton and No. 20-ranked Frances Tiafoe. In the 2023 US Open, an unranked Shelton upset No.10-ranked Tiafoe in four sets. This year, Tiafoe beat Shelton in a close five-set match. Being good friends outside of the game, the men gave each other a hug at the net after the game.
This was also the first US Open to feature multiple US tennis players in the semi-finals for both men’s and women’s tennis in 21 years. No. 13-ranked Emma Navarro and Pegula representing the women and Fritz and Tiafoe representing the men.
Regardless, the 2024 US Open entertained over 1 million attending fans throughout the three weeks and millions more on television. The US Open also broke the opening day single-match record with 74,641 fans attending the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Overall, the 2024 US Open demonstrated tennis’ growing worldwide impact, while also strengthening the sport’s growing popularity and reach.
