Aryna Sabalenka: The 5 women US Open champion matches on three Grand Slam titles
It was Aryna Sabalenka’s day in New York, with the world No 2 capturing her third Grand Slam title at the US Open.
It was an epic run for the Belarusian, who came into the tournament as the favourite and ultimately delivered, defeating Jessica Pegula in Saturday’s final.
US Open victory marks a third Grand Slam singles title for Sabalenka – a total that puts her alongside five legends of the women’s game.
Virginia Wade
One of the leading players of the late 1960s and 1970s, Wade reached three Grand Slam singles titles – and won them all.
Wade holds a special place in history at the US Open, becoming the first champion of the Open Era with her victory over the legendary Billie Jean King in the 1968 final.
Four years later, the British star doubled her major singles tally with victory at the 1972 Australian Open champion, again beating a legend of the sport – and a home favourite – in the form of Evonne Goolagong.
But the former world No 2 is probably best remembered for her third and final Grand Slam triumph, defeating Betty Stove from a set down to lift the Wimbledon title on home turf in 1977.
Lindsay Davenport
Davenport won 55 career singles titles and spent 98 weeks as world No 1, and also has three Grand Slam singles titles on her CV.
The US star won her first major singles title on home soil in 1998, defeating defending singles champion Martina Hingis to lift the US Open title.
She then backed that up with perhaps her most memorable win at Wimbledon in 1999, where she overcame the legendary Steffi Graf – in her last major final – to lift the Venus Rosewater Dish.
Davenport captured her third and final Grand Slam singles title by beating Hingis at the Australian Open in 2000, though would reach a further four finals.
Jennifer Capriati
Competing in the same era as Davenport, compatriot Capriati also rose to No 1 in the world rankings – and claimed three Grand Slam singles titles.
Capriati captured her first major title at the 2oo1 Australian Open, beating three-time champion Martina Hingis in the final to break her Grand Slam duck.
The US star then became one of the few players to win her first and second majors consecutively, defeating Kim Clijsters in a lengthy French Open final to triumph in Paris.
Capriati sealed her third and final major title with a successful Australian Open title defence in 2002, saving championship points to down Hingis for the second year in a row.
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Angelique Kerber
One of the most surprising stories in women’s tennis was the surprise rise of Kerber, who spent 34 weeks as world No 1 – and ultimately won three majors.
The German shocked the tennis world at the very start of 2016, battling past Serena Williams in a classic Australian Open final to win her first Grand Slam title.
After being beaten by Williams in the Wimbledon final, Kerber then bounced back by winning the US Open at the end of the summer, lifting the title with a three-set win over Karolina Pliskova.
In a resurgent 2018 season, the recently retired German finally lifted the title at SW19 – gaining revenge over Williams following her loss two years earlier.
Ashleigh Barty
Barty’s career was short compared to many tennis players, which makes her success even more impressive.
The Australian lifted her first major singles title at the French Open in 2019, beating Marketa Vondrousova in a surprise final – and rising to world No 1 just a few weeks later.
Two years later, Barty captured her second major singles title at Wimbledon, beating Pliskova in three sets to hold the Venus Rosewater Dish aloft.
That was then followed by victory at her home Slam in 2022, defeating Danielle Collins to lift the title in what proved to be the final tournament she would play.
Aryna Sabalenka
Sabalenka now matches the above greats thanks to her efforts in New York.
After a few tough Slam semi-final defeats, the Belarusian finally claimed her first major title at the Australian Open title in 2023, beating Elena Rybakina in a thrilling final.
The 26-year-old then suffered a tough loss in the US Open final last year but then bounced back in Melbourne at the start of 2024, defending her title with a victory over Zheng Qinwen.
On Saturday, she captured her third Slam, beating Jessica Pegula in straight sets to complete the hard-court Slam sweep.
