NEW YORK -- As the crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium cheered wildly, Aryna Sabalenka put her head down and walked to her chair.
Coco Gauff was lying on the court with her head in her hands, celebrating her first major title, and Sabalenka was left to wonder how she had lost in the final at the 2023 US Open, after winning the first set 6-2. She was gracious on the court in defeat, praising Gauff and smiling for photos, but when Sabalenka left the court, she slammed her racket on the floor several times in the player gym before putting it into the trash can.
When she spoke to reporters later, Sabalenka vowed the disappointing loss would only help her in the future.
"It's [a] lesson for me," she said. "I will learn and then come back stronger."
On Saturday, 364 days and a roller coaster of a season later, the 26-year-old Sabalenka made good on her promise, as she defeated Jessica Pegula 7-5, 7-5 to claim the 2024 US Open title. It was Sabalenka's third major title overall -- and she became the first woman to hoist the US Open trophy after losing in the final the previous year since Serena Williams in 2012.
This time when the match was over, it was Sabalenka with her head in her hands as she fell to the court. The only racket smash had happened during a tense moment late in the first set, and this time the tears running down her face were those of joy.
She couldn't help but think about her 2023 heartbreak, as well as her 2021 and 2022 semifinal defeats, after the match.
"I just remember all those tough losses here at the US Open, and they say that you're going to see the reason later and I see the reason right now," Sabalenka said on the ESPN broadcast after the trophy ceremony. "I had to go through this stuff, [and] tough lessons to be able to hold this beautiful trophy, and now I think I'm the happiest person in the world right now."
One of the best players on tour on the hard court, Sabalenka started 2024 much like her 2023 season had begun -- with an Australian Open title. And while her 2023 victory in Melbourne for the first major title of her career had been a three-set battle with Elena Rybakina, this year, Sabalenka made quick work of Qinwen Zheng, 6-3, 6-2 for the title. Zheng admitted she had been overwhelmed by Sabalenka's level of play and trademark power.
"She's a really aggressive player," Zheng said later. "If you let a chance go [against her], it will happen like today."
It also marked Sabalenka's sixth consecutive major in which she reached the semifinals or further, and it seemed like Sabalenka would remain one of the most consistent and dominant players in the new season.
Then tragedy struck.
Just days before she was slated to start play at the Miami Open in March, Sabalenka's former partner Konstantin Koltsov, a retired professional hockey player, died after an apparent suicide while staying in a nearby hotel. Sabalenka, who remained largely silent on the matter, became the center of a morbid news cycle. She remained in the Miami Open draw and was seen wearing all black during a heavily attended practice session on the grounds the following day.
"Konstantin's death is an unthinkable tragedy, and while we were no longer together, my heart is broken," Sabalenka said in a statement. "Please respect my privacy and his family's privacy during this difficult time." She didn't speak to the media during the tournament.
She won her opening match against close friend Paula Badosa, who afterward called her a "very, very strong woman" and acknowledged how uncomfortable the match had been given the circumstances. Sabalenka lost the following round.
She then turned her attention to the clay season, during which she reached back-to-back finals in Madrid and Rome. Sabalenka had a stomach virus at the French Open, though, and lost in the quarterfinals -- marking her earliest exit at a Slam in two years.
During her first tournament on grass, Sabalenka sustained a debilitating shoulder injury and had to retire in the first set of her second match. She tried to recover in time for Wimbledon -- and even was on site practicing at the All England Club in the days before the main draw began -- but had to withdraw before her opening-round match. She said she was "heartbroken" in a statement but insisted, as she had at the US Open, that she would be back and "stronger than ever."
And while many of her top-ranked peers went to Paris again for the Olympic Games at the end of July, Sabalenka already had opted to skip the event.
"Especially with all the struggles I've been struggling with the last months, I feel I have to take care of my health," Sabalenka told reporters in June. "It's too much for the scheduling, and I made the decision to take care of my health."
It seemed to pay off.
While she didn't reference Koltsov's death directly on Saturday at the US Open, she said she "didn't stop after some challenges in my life" earlier in the season and that it had taken its toll.
"I [kept] pushing myself, and I guess I just got to the limit emotionally and physically and it was very important to kind of step back, just recharge," Sabalenka said. "Just that little moment with myself really helped me to be more fresh and more ready, and I felt like I was hungrier than ever this summer."
While many other players discussed experiencing fatigue after the grueling summer schedule and the multiple surface changes -- and cited it as a potential reason for being on the wrong side of an upset in New York -- Sabalenka had no such issue. Entering Saturday's final, she had a 15-2 record on hard court this summer in four events and had won the title in Cincinnati in her final lead-in tournament.
"I have no regrets on that decision [to skip the Olympics]," Sabalenka said on Thursday. "I mean, it looks like it was the right one, and I had a great time off. I did a lot of treatment, a lot of rehab and all that stuff. Then I had a little camp before the hard-court season. I was able to reset my mind and clean my thoughts and start everything from the beginning."
During her run in New York, she had dropped just one set ahead of Saturday and held off a slew of seeded opponents, including No. 7 Zheng in the quarterfinals and rising American No. 13 Emma Navarro in the semifinals.
"[Her forehand is] obviously a huge weapon," Navarro said after praising Sabalenka's ability to raise her level of play in the most crucial moments. "Definitely felt that at times today."
In the final against the red-hot Pegula, who had won the Canadian Open title last month and had been Sabalenka's opponent in the Cincinnati final, Sabalenka took control late in the first set and won five consecutive games to jump to a 3-0 lead in the second. But Pegula would not go away without a fight, winning the next five games and looking poised to force a decider.
Remembering what happened last year in the third set and determined to close it out, Sabalenka said she dug deep into her emotional reserves and let her mental toughness take over.
"I've been through a lot on and off the court, and I just figured out for myself how to control my emotions and stay balanced on court," she said later. "And even when things are not going my way, I just keep reminding myself that, 'Come on, Aryna, you've been through a lot. This is just a tennis match, and you can handle these emotions. You just have to focus on things you have to do today to win this match.'"
Pegula, who called Sabalenka the best hard-court player in the world, noticed it too.
"She played some big tennis in some big moments," Pegula said.
During the victory ceremony, on the same stage she had stood on in 2023 as she fought off tears following the loss, Sabalenka basked in the spotlight. She accepted her trophy -- and her $3.6 million winner's check -- and posed for photos with a smile that just wouldn't fade. When she addressed the crowd, she couldn't help but reflect on the past year and recognize the journey that had taken her right back to the same place -- but in an entirely different position.
"It's going to sound easy, but never give up on your dream and just keep trying, keep working hard," Sabalenka said. "And if you're really working hard and you're sacrificing everything for your dream, you're going to get it one day.
"So, I'm just super proud of myself. I never say that, but really guys, I'm super proud of myself. I'm proud of my team that no matter what, no matter which situation we were facing this season and in the past, we were able to go through it."