{"id":128539,"date":"2025-09-08T10:00:14","date_gmt":"2025-09-08T10:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/128539\/"},"modified":"2025-09-08T10:00:14","modified_gmt":"2025-09-08T10:00:14","slug":"u-s-open-takeaways-alcaraz-and-sabalenka-the-best-matches-and-the-funniest-moments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/128539\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Open takeaways: Alcaraz and Sabalenka, the best matches and the funniest moments"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome back to the Monday Tennis Briefing, where The Athletic\u00a0will explain the stories behind the stories from the past week on court.<\/p>\n

This week, the U.S. Open<\/a> concluded with two gripping finals. Aryna Sabalenka curbed her natural instincts to beat Amanda Anisimova<\/a> 6-3, 7-6(3) in an absorbing women\u2019s final, before Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner<\/a> contested their third Grand Slam final in a row \u2014 a record in the Open Era of men\u2019s tennis. Alcaraz won 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, and returned to the top of the world rankings in the process.<\/p>\n

The Athletic\u2019s tennis team, Matthew Futterman, Charlie Eccleshare and James Hansen, present their takeaways from the final Grand Slam of 2025, from the best shots and funniest moments to the biggest disappointments and the most incredible matches.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019d like to follow our tennis coverage, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The best match?<\/p>\n

Charlie Eccleshare: Amanda Anisimova vs. Naomi Osaka<\/a> wasn\u2019t the highest quality, but it was compelling, with the outcome uncertain until the very last point. The way Anisimova came back from losing the first set to impose herself on the four-time Grand Slam champion was hugely impressive.<\/p>\n

Matthew Futterman: Taylor Townsend vs. Barbora Krej\u010d\u00edkov\u00e1<\/a>. Krej\u010d\u00edkov\u00e1 saved eight match points in the second set; Townsend fell behind but kept coming after her in the third. The outcome always felt in the balance, and Townsend was playing with unmatched attention on her, in a packed Louis Armstrong Stadium, on Labor Day weekend.<\/p>\n

James Hansen: Men\u2019s: Alexander Bublik\u2019s five-set win against Tommy Paul in the third round was pretty wild. Women\u2019s: Aryna Sabalenka vs. Jessica Pegula in the semifinals.<\/p>\n

The funniest moment?<\/p>\n

Charlie Eccleshare: \u201cHello everybody. It\u2019s gonna be a fun media,\u201d said a beaming Aryna Sabalenka<\/a> as she walked into the interview room wearing a silver jacket and a pair of novelty sunglasses. Also clutching a bottle of champagne, the U.S. Open champion set the tone for a vibe-filled and revealing 15 minutes or so.<\/p>\n

Matthew Futterman: Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori cutting up one team of singles stars after another<\/a> to win the new mixed doubles \u2014 exactly what the USTA was hoping wouldn\u2019t happen.<\/p>\n

James Hansen: The way the U.S. Open jumbo tennis ball became a harbinger of doom<\/a> for players on the verge of defeat is one of my favorite developments in tennis over the past year. The sport\u2019s equivalent of the Roman emperor\u2019s thumbs down decided that Krej\u010d\u00edkov\u00e1 was done in the second-set tiebreak of her match against Townsend, with children clutching the balls hustling down the bleachers to get to the front for autographs. Krej\u010d\u00edkov\u00e1, serving for her tournament life, looked into an eyeful of yellow, and essentially said: \u201cF\u2014 them kids.\u201d<\/p>\n

Krej\u010d\u00edkov\u00e1 hung in, saved more match points and won the tiebreak to take the match into a third set. The kids with the balls spent all that time hunkered down on the stairs, laying low and waiting to be allowed back to their seats. It was hilarious.<\/p>\n

The worst prediction?<\/p>\n

Charlie Eccleshare: One of my players to watch going into the tournament was the 21-year-old American Ethan Quinn<\/a>. He had picked up a few decent wins and I thought that he might be able to pick up a couple more here, especially given his good draw.<\/p>\n

He lost in the first round to world No. 175 J\u00e9r\u00f4me Kym.<\/p>\n

Matthew Futterman: I stayed away from predictions this year. I\u2019ve learned my lessons. Though at some point, I said to Charlie and James that I thought Mirra Andreeva was going to beat Townsend<\/a> handily in the third round. Oops.<\/p>\n

James Hansen: Elena Rybakina and Taylor Fritz had shown me enough that I thought they would trouble Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori in the first round of the mixed doubles. It wasn\u2019t even close.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori struck a blow on behalf of doubles players everywhere in New York. (Timothy A. Clary \/ AFP via Getty Images)The best storyline?<\/p>\n

Charlie Eccleshare: The redemption story is overused in sports, but Anisimova coming back from a double-bagel Wimbledon final defeat against Iga \u015awi\u0105tek<\/a> to beat the same player a couple of months later was extraordinary.<\/p>\n

The energy on Arthur Ashe Stadium for their U.S. Open quarterfinal<\/a>, with everyone pulling so hard for Anisimova, is something that will stay with me.<\/p>\n

Matthew Futterman: It\u2019s also the worst one, but Townsend\u2019s tournament<\/a> after Jelena Ostapenko said she had \u201cno class\u201d and \u201cno education\u201d<\/a> after their match. In her news conferences and on the court, she showed what she has always shown \u2014 that the complete opposite is true. As Townsend put it, she let her racket talk.<\/p>\n

James Hansen: Coco Gauff\u2019s public, honest, vulnerable and occasionally visceral wrestle with the fundamentals of her entire sporting life, all in the middle of the most important tournament of her season. She is playing a tennis long game and lived every minute of it in New York this year. We should also mention Osaka\u2019s rise back to where she wants to be.<\/p>\n

The biggest letdown?<\/p>\n

Charlie Eccleshare: The couple of hours in which Ben Shelton<\/a> and Frances Tiafoe both exited the tournament on the first Friday. Shelton was unlucky to suffer a shoulder injury during his match against Adrian Mannarino, while Tiafoe was unusually lacklustre in losing to 35-year-old qualifier Jan-Lennard Struff.<\/p>\n

In a men\u2019s event so dominated once again by Sinner and Alcaraz<\/a>, it was a loss of domestic star power the tournament could really have done without.<\/p>\n

Matthew Futterman: Stefanos Tsitsipas talked big about how his father\u2019s return as his coach would make a big difference. Then he lost in five sets against Daniel Altmaier of Germany in the second round and got unjustifiably angry about an underarm serve at the end.<\/p>\n

James Hansen: The fans who missed most, or even all, of the first set of the men\u2019s final because of the enhanced security for the visit of President Donald Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The best newcomer?<\/p>\n

Charlie Eccleshare: This has been the year of the Cinderella story that is not a Cinderella story on the WTA Tour, with Lo\u00efs Boisson<\/a> and Victoria Mboko<\/a> coming seemingly out of nowhere to reach the French Open semifinal and win the Canadian Open. The reality? Their breakthrough runs came off the back of relentless winning on tennis\u2019 third-tier ITF World Tennis Tour.<\/p>\n

Following in their footsteps at the U.S. Open was Janice Tjen<\/a>, a 23-year-old Pepperdine University graduate from Indonesia. Having posted 100 wins from 113 matches on the ITF Tour since graduating, she went through qualifying for the U.S. Open and took out then-world No. 25 Veronika Kudermetova in the first round.<\/p>\n

She lost her next match \u2014 against the ultimate Cinderella story, 2021 U.S. Open champion and qualifier Emma Raducanu \u2014 but with a game that has shades of former world No. 1 Ash Barty, Tjen looks to have a bright future.<\/p>\n

Matthew Futterman: Alex Eala, who rallied from 5-1 down in the third set of her first-round match against Clara Tauson, the No. 14 seed. Eala saved five match points to win in a tiebreak, and became the first Filipino player to win a main-draw singles match at a Grand Slam in the Open Era. She lost in the second round, but we should be excited about what she can bring to tennis. Second choice would be her peer from the Rafael Nadal Academy, Coleman Wong, who became the first player from Hong Kong to win a main-draw singles match at a Grand Slam in the Open Era.<\/p>\n

James Hansen: Tereza Valentov\u00e1 continues to rise and make her mark at each major that she plays. The Czech 18-year-old, who has a similar ITF record to Boisson and Mboko, is now No. 71 in the world. She beat Italian mainstay Lucia Bronzetti on a raucous Court 5 before coming within a few points of taking 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina to a third set in their second-round encounter.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Tereza Valentov\u00e1\u2019s Grand Slam performances and wins in the lower tiers of tennis suggest that sustained success is not far away. (Robert Prange \/ Getty Images)Favorite quote?<\/p>\n

Charlie Eccleshare: \u201cI was in the cooldown area, and he was like, \u2018Hey, mom, let\u2019s work out together.\u2019 I\u2019m like, \u2018Sir, I just played three hours. I don\u2019t want to work out.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Townsend\u2019s four-year-old son, Adyn Aubrey, helped put things in perspective for his mom after her heartbreaking fourth-round loss to Krej\u010d\u00edkov\u00e1.<\/p>\n

Matthew Futterman: Coleman Wong to me after winning his second-round match against Adam Walton. \u201cI love New York. There are so many Asian restaurants here.\u201d<\/p>\n

James Hansen: His behavior was way over the line and he should have been penalized more heavily at the time, but Daniil Medvedev reaching into the recesses of his brain mid-meltdown to remember that a fellow player had criticized umpire Greg Allensworth, and then screaming it for the world to hear, was phenomenal in the worst way. \u201cWhat did Reilly Opelka say?!<\/a>\u201d I don\u2019t know, man.<\/p>\n

Favorite shot?<\/p>\n

Charlie Eccleshare and Matthew Futterman: Alcaraz\u2019s backwards dancing inside-in forehand that he rifled against Ji\u0159\u00ed Lehe\u010dka. He made it look so easy and normal, and yet it was pure madness.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

James Hansen: \u015awi\u0105tek\u2019s spinning backhand volley against Ekaterina Alexandrova. She is working to add the feel she has inside her tennis self back into her game:<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfc6\u00a0The winners of the week<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfbe\u00a0ATP:\u00a0<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfc6\u00a0Alcaraz (2) def.\u00a0Sinner (1) 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 to win the U.S. Open\u00a0in New York. It is his sixth Grand Slam title.<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfbe WTA:<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfc6 Sabalenka (1) def.\u00a0Anisimova (8) 6-3, 7-6(3) to win the U.S. Open\u00a0in New York. It is her fourth Grand Slam title.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcc8\ud83d\udcc9 On the rise<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcc8\u00a0Alcaraz replaces\u00a0Sinner as world No. 1 after beating the Italian in the U.S. Open final.
\ud83d\udcc8 Anisimova moves up five places from No. 9 to No. 4, a career high.
\ud83d\udcc8 F\u00e9lix\u00a0Auger-Aliassime returns to the top 20 after his run to the semifinals, rising 14 places from No. 27 to No. 13.
\ud83d\udcc8\u00a0Osaka also returns to the top 20 after a run to the semifinals, rising 10 places from No. 24 to No. 14.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcc8 Novak Djokovic moves up to No. 4 in the world from No. 7, supplanting Taylor Fritz after beating him in the quarterfinals.
\ud83d\udcc8 Mark\u00e9ta Vondrou\u0161ov\u00e1 moves up 25 places from No. 60 to No. 35 after her run to the quarterfinals.
\ud83d\udcc8\u00a0Mannarino rises from No. 77 to No. 53 after making the fourth round.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcc5 Coming up<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfbe\u00a0ATP\u00a0<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udccdVarious locations:\u00a0Davis Cup Qualifiers featuring Fritz, De Minaur, Tom\u00e1\u0161 Mach\u00e1\u010d, Holger Rune.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcfa UK: Sky Sports; U.S.: Tennis Channel \ud83d\udcbb, Tennis TV<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfbe WTA<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udccdGuadalajara, Mexico:\u00a0Guadalajara Open (500) featuring Elise Mertens, Jelena Ostapenko, Maria Sakkari, Elsa Jacquemot.
\ud83d\udccdS\u00e3o Paulo, Brazil: SP Open (250) featuring Beatriz Haddad Maia, Eala, Renata Zaraz\u00faa, Tjen.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcfa UK: Sky Sports; U.S.: Tennis Channel<\/p>\n

Tell us what you noticed this week in the comments below as the men\u2019s and women\u2019s tours continue.<\/p>\n

(Top photo: Elsa \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Welcome back to the Monday Tennis Briefing, where The Athletic\u00a0will explain the stories behind the stories from the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":128540,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[442],"tags":[49,48,82,593],"class_list":{"0":"post-128539","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tennis","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-sports","11":"tag-tennis"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128539","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=128539"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128539\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/128540"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=128539"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=128539"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=128539"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}