"She played her best tennis when it mattered," Navratilova reflects on Sabalenka's US Open title

Last night, Aryna Sabalenka won the title at the US Open by dominating Amanda Anisimova (6-3, 7-6). Throughout the tournament, the world number one, who successfully defended her title at Flushing Meadows, lost only one set, which was during her semifinal against Jessica Pegula (4-6, 6-3, 6-4).

The 27-year-old player thus claimed the fourth Grand Slam title of her career. Tennis legend Martina Navratilova reflected on the final between the two players, which saw Sabalenka triumph over Anisimova, the new world number 4 in the WTA rankings.

"Experience made the difference for Sabalenka. As for Anisimova, what a fantastic summer. She has no reason to be ashamed. If someone had told her she would play the Wimbledon and US Open finals this year, she would have been over the moon.

She learned a great deal from this defeat and will come back even stronger. The pressure was on Sabalenka. Expectations are so high when you're at the top of the rankings like she is.

During the match, Aryna (Sabalenka) didn’t always play at her best level, but she played her best tennis when it mattered—kudos to her. It’s even harder to be at your best at the moment in the match when you need it most.

In the first set, Amanda (Anisimova) went from 2-0 to 3-2 with serve to follow. I think she must be disappointed not to have played better at that moment. And against Sabalenka, that’s not enough, and she knew how to gain confidence after managing to escape in the first set.

Amanda was emotionally present, but it was still too inconsistent. She’s a perfectionist, so she gets frustrated too easily. She’ll need to stay positive throughout an entire match to improve," Navratilova elaborated to Tennis Up To Date.