{"id":344906,"date":"2026-09-12T11:02:11","date_gmt":"2026-09-12T11:02:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/344906\/"},"modified":"2026-09-12T11:02:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-12T11:02:11","slug":"aryna-sabalenkas-u-s-open-titles-are-built-on-an-empire-state-of-mind-can-she-find-it-again-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/344906\/","title":{"rendered":"Aryna Sabalenka\u2019s U.S. Open titles are built on an empire state of mind. Can she find it again?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Aryna Sabalenka<\/a> first traveled to New York City as a teenager. On her first morning in the Big Apple, weary and jet-lagged, she rose just after dawn. Her body clock was telling her it was time.<\/p>\n

Unable to get back to sleep, she threw on some clothes and headed out the door of her hotel room just after 6 a.m., hoping to take a solitary walk in what she assumed would be a slumbering Central Park.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought, \u2018OK, it\u2019s going to be empty, it\u2019s going to be beautiful,\u2019\u201d Sabalenka recalled during a recent interview.<\/p>\n

\u201cI went in there, and everyone is running. It\u2019s like thousands of people. I\u2019m like \u2026 \u2018What the hell? Does this city sleep at all?\u2019 That was crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the time, Sabalenka figured she and New York weren\u2019t going to get along that well. She\u2019d grown up in Minsk, the capital of Belarus and a far quieter city in a country of just 9 million people \u2014 about as many people as there are in the city of New York itself.<\/p>\n

A decade later, though, Sabalenka, the world No. 1 and two-time defending U.S. Open<\/a> champion, has become something of a New York tennis zen master, drawing energy from the noise, commotion and hassles of a city and a tournament that can sap the will of her opponents.<\/p>\n

It helps that she is arguably the top hard-court player in women\u2019s tennis, but winning in the city takes much more than just an affinity for a surface.<\/p>\n

Why are the US Open courts blue?<\/p>\n

Tifo Sports<\/p>\n

\u201cShe can use it pretty well, this energy, and not just let it drain her,\u201d Sabalenka\u2019s longtime coach, Anton Dubrov, said in an interview ahead of the tournament. \u201cShe can use this atmosphere; people are screaming around, even the traffic. It can drain you, but at the same time you can use it. It\u2019s kind of like a stress motivation thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The traffic? The clogged journey from midtown Manhattan out to the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, Queens that can last more than an hour, even on good days? Everyone hates that.<\/p>\n

Except Sabalenka. Like Roger Federer, who treated it as a rare quiet moment during the raucous days of his career, she\u2019s even learned to love it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just put the headphones on, and I enjoy it,\u201d Sabalenka said. \u201cI just like to be in the car. I look around.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maybe that\u2019s why Sabalenka has been in the final three consecutive years, and was a few games away from winning her first U.S. Open title a year earlier than she did. She\u2019s made the final four every year since 2021.<\/p>\n

This year, she has made three consecutive years four. Sabalenka will face Elena Rybakina, who beat her in this year\u2019s Australian Open final and who on Monday will displace her as world No. 1, with a three-peat on the line.<\/p>\n

Each of the four Grand Slams brings its own challenges. For most players, the Australian Open involves a 20-plus-hour journey, and then they have to adjust to the time zone. At the French Open, there is the silky, slippery clay of Roland Garros. At Wimbledon, there is the grass, the grandeur and the history of the sport\u2019s most important tournament.<\/p>\n

New York and the U.S. Open deliver chaos and headaches at nearly every turn. The very mention of it can make 2022 champion Iga \u015awi\u0105tek\u2019s eyes bulge. Novak Djokovic, who has won it four times, still secludes himself at a friend\u2019s estate in Alpine, N.J., to escape the commotion and find the peace he needs to thrive.<\/p>\n

Paula Badosa, Sabalenka\u2019s closest friend in tennis, was born in New York. It\u2019s her favorite city \u2014 except when it comes to doing her job there. The noise and the wind top her list of complaints.<\/p>\n

Even players who love the U.S. Open recognize that it\u2019s not exactly ideal conditions for tennis Nirvana.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone\u2019s half-drunk on Honey Deuces,<\/a>\u201d a line referring to the signature cocktail, is often the first thing out of Frances Tiafoe\u2019s mouth when the subject of his favorite Grand Slam arises.<\/p>\n

Nearly all the U.S. Open lovers and haters view it as a kind of survival test, an event that challenges their senses and ability to find quiet and sleep. To hear Sabalenka talk about her recipe for success means leaning into the chaos with her as she describes how she makes it work at a clip, with a few hacks, tricks and favorite haunts along the way.<\/p>\n

She books a room on the highest possible floor of her hotel. After a decade of sampling, she has figured out where she can eat well and also eat good.<\/p>\n

\u201cI go to Polo Bar; I have my steak there with really good sides,\u201d she said. \u201cI go to Greek restaurants. There\u2019s plenty of good healthy restaurants, and then after the tournament I go crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The way the past few months have gone, Sabalenka is going to need every bit of her New York mojo to win a third consecutive U.S. Open title, because she has lost every possible way since the clay-court season.<\/p>\n

She lost from match point at the Madrid Open. She was a game away from victory in the French Open quarterfinals before losing 10 consecutive games to Russia\u2019s Diana Shnaider. Naomi Osaka overwhelmed her at Wimbledon. At the Cincinnati Open, diminutive rising Czech talent Sar\u00e1 Bejlek wore her down with her defense and foot speed, but Sabalenka also lost leads of 5-1 in the first-set tiebreak and 4-1 in the second set.<\/p>\n

Can New York be different again? Maybe.<\/p>\n

\"Aryna<\/p>\n

\n Aryna Sabalenka has conquered the U.S. Open crowd that undid her against Coco Gauff in the 2023 final. (Elsa \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

The Sabalenka who lost to Coco Gauff and a raucous New York crowd in 2023? That was a different Sabalenka to the one who will greet them Saturday. Then she was a player who naturally felt like a serious outsider, who wasn\u2019t yet comfortable letting down her guard in the sport\u2019s biggest stadium, in a city that wasn\u2019t hers. She needed to get to know them. They needed to get to know her.<\/p>\n

Becoming the world No. 1 certainly helped. American crowds love stars capable of making sports history in their presence. It just took her a little while to figure out how to show them who she was beyond what she did with a racket. All those wins and post-match, on-court interviews gave her plenty of opportunity for that.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think they really fall for the personality,\u201d Sabalenka said. \u201cIf they like the personality, if they get to know a person better, they get a chance to fall in love. I don\u2019t think they fall only for stars.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2024, after getting out of some serious adversity against Emma Navarro, she told the crowd: \u201cNot this time, guys.\u201d Then she defeated Jessica Pegula to win the title. Then she defeated another American, Amanda Anisimova, to do it again in 2025.<\/p>\n

Jason Stacy, who has served as Sabalenka\u2019s fitness trainer and mindset coach for most of the past decade, said it took some work to get Sabalenka to understand how she could use the maelstrom of New York to her advantage. She also started speaking to her psychologist again this summer following some dispiriting losses.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like with so many other things we\u2019ve been through with her,\u201d Stacy said in an interview. \u201cShe needed to be reminded that she chose to be here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Once Sabalenka did that, she could open her mind to how to flip what felt like a major weakness into a major strength. She, Stacy and Dubrov talked about everything that New York had to offer.<\/p>\n

Yes, New York City could be smelly, loud and crowded. But there was so much there that she loves. That big stadium with all those screaming fans makes tennis feel like a party. The music. The spotlight.<\/p>\n

If she could figure out how to drain the energy she could harness while shutting out the parts that might drain her, this all might work.<\/p>\n

Crazy loud and busy days at the National Tennis Center and with sponsor appearances ahead of the tournament, but a 10 p.m. bedtime when her playing schedule allows. Chill time in the car. Limit the walking and wandering. Minimal shopping.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou get recognized a lot and then like you\u2019re shopping and it ends up being you\u2019re just taking pictures,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She and her team have learned to roll with the mostly unpredictable U.S. Open schedule. Like everyone else, Sabalenka prays she doesn\u2019t get put in the second night slot on Ashe or in Louis Armstrong Stadium following a best-of-five men\u2019s match.<\/p>\n

Helen Murawska, who has worked as Sabalenka\u2019s physiotherapist for the past three years, said the ideal start time for a match is about 2 p.m. Assuming she wins, can go through her extensive post-match routine, get through her commitments, ride back into New York City and have a peaceful dinner at a reasonable hour.<\/p>\n

After a match, Sabalenka will spend about 10 minutes on an exercise bike to cool down and flush out her muscles, which stimulates recovery. It\u2019s a short ride with high resistance. Then Murawska will guide her through a stretching session and address any specific concerns that arose during the match.<\/p>\n

During or after that, she will begin drinking a protein shake. She will take a quick shower \u2014 Sabalenka is not an ice-bath person \u2014 do some interviews, then head back to the hotel.<\/p>\n

They do their best to keep all bright-colored, sour candies out of her reach. Sabalenka isn\u2019t necessarily a huge cake, ice cream and cookies person, Dubrov said, but she can crush a bag of gummy bears or Sour Patch Kids in a matter of minutes.<\/p>\n

Unless she is starving, Murawska will get her on the massage table and work through a treatment as they debrief more extensively about how her body is holding up. That normally lasts 30 to 45 minutes. Then a protein-laden dinner, hence the steak. Then sleep.<\/p>\n

\"Aryna<\/p>\n

\n Aryna Sabalenka defeated Amanda Anisimova in the 2025 U.S. Open final to lift the trophy. (Elsa \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Inevitably, they all have to adjust. If a match is short or Sabalenka needs to work on something, she and her coaches might head to the practice court for a maximum of 30 minutes as soon as she comes off the court. If a court isn\u2019t immediately available, they will skip it, because cooling down and then having to warm up again can be risky.<\/p>\n

If she has played late and time is short, the priority is to get through everything else quickly so she can prioritize sleep, if her body allows that. Sometimes it doesn\u2019t, and she can end up on a massage table in the small hours of the morning. Murawska said she once performed a treatment in a New York hotel room at 3 a.m. after a long flight.<\/p>\n

Dubrov said regardless of the hour, Sabalenka has something of a sleeping superpower. She can get back from a restaurant, unwind and be asleep in about 20 minutes.<\/p>\n

Stacy is quick to point out that these tricks, hacks and routines guarantee nothing. Accepting that, which might be the toughest test for any tennis player, was as essential for Sabalenka\u2019s New York zen state as anything else.<\/p>\n

She might do everything right and still lose. That has to be OK, too \u2014 even for the two-time champion who has mastered the city rhythm.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s all part of all the work she has been doing for years,\u201d Stacy said. \u201cIt\u2019s about her understanding who she is.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Aryna Sabalenka first traveled to New York City as a teenager. On her first morning in the Big…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":344907,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[17,9,11,10,49,51,50,15559,35952,15547,2250],"class_list":["post-344906","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-culture","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-headlines","tag-new-york-news","tag-new-york-state","tag-new-york-state-headlines","tag-new-york-state-news","tag-olympics","tag-peak","tag-tennis","tag-top-sports-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/344906","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=344906"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/344906\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/344907"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=344906"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=344906"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=344906"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}