The dream of making a three-peat falls short at the final hurdle for Aryna Sabalenka. After losing to Elena Rybakina, the former World No. 1 was not happy. As the defeat settled in, Sabalenka couldn’t help but notice where she fell short, especially in the unforced errors department.

During her post-game press conference, a reporter asked her whether playing too many finals might have been a bad thing for her, with it feeling like it was ‘slipping away,’ but Sabalenka didn’t believe it needed so much thought. She already had an answer for what went wrong.

“I was just out there competing, trying to do my best with what I had there today, and not good enough,” the Belarusian star admitted.\

Aryna Sabalenka had already fought through a difficult summer to reach another US Open final. But from the opening set, Elena Rybakina made it clear this would be different. Sabalenka’s serve was not giving her enough control, while her returns failed to trouble Rybakina.

The errors kept coming, and the pressure only seemed to grow as Rybakina took the opening set 6-4. While Sabalenka’s game may not have been on point, it was certainly not down to the support. In the conference, she also spoke about the ‘amazing’ atmosphere and even ‘feeling American over there’.

Sabalenka’s frustration became harder to hide as Rybakina continued finding answers from every part of the court.

She double-faulted to give away the decisive break before later sending a ball into the crowd. Rybakina kept attacking the second serve, while Sabalenka struggled to create chances when returning. By the end of the opening set, Sabalenka had fallen behind and needed something different.

But the second set gave Sabalenka the opening she desperately needed to change the match. Her serving improved, and she began finding more rhythm during the longer exchanges. At 5-4, she finally created her first break points before forcing Rybakina into another tense service game.

Sabalenka eventually took the set 7-5, but the comeback still did not feel completely secure.

That uncertainty became even more visible when the deciding set started, because Rybakina found another level. The Kazakhstani served with greater purpose and kept pushing Sabalenka behind the baseline. Sabalenka’s frustration returned, while Rybakina moved through her early service games without giving anything away. The 6-2 scoreline eventually ended Sabalenka’s attempt at winning 3 straight US Open titles.

What made the defeat harder was that Sabalenka knew exactly where her performance had fallen short. She created only 3 break-point chances, while Rybakina finished with 12 aces and 36 winners. After the match, Sabalenka did not hide from that reality.

“I’m obviously not really happy with the level I played today, but she served incredibly,” she said. “She played really aggressively, great tennis. Yeah, she was simply a better player today than me.”

Still, Sabalenka did not leave New York believing everything had gone wrong during this tournament. She knows another Grand Slam final and another difficult lesson can still help her move forward.

“There are lots of things to take from this tournament,” she said. “I mean, as experience shows, I only come back stronger, and all of these lessons this season definitely already made me stronger, but definitely going to motivate me for the next year to do a better job.”

But it’s not just Sabalenka who is unhappy with the loss.

Martina Navratilova not happy with Aryna Sabalenka

Aryna Sabalenka’s US Open final against Elena Rybakina had already become a difficult battle before frustration started taking over. Rybakina was finding her serve, while Sabalenka struggled to create chances whenever she stepped forward.

The Belarusian eventually lost the opening set 6-4, leaving herself needing another comeback against Rybakina.

But the second set gave Sabalenka the opening she desperately needed to stay in the match. She fought through the pressure and took the set 7-5, sending the final into a deciding set.

Yet Rybakina’s serve continued to cause problems, as Sabalenka managed to break her only once throughout the entire match. Rybakina won 85% of her first-serve points and 66% of points behind her second serve.

That was where Martina Navratilova questioned one part of Sabalenka’s game during the final. Sabalenka was standing much closer to the baseline while returning Rybakina’s serve than before.

“I would like to ask her. And especially change it during the match,” Navratilova said.

She also said Sabalenka did “a horrible job with the second serve returns” during the opening set.

The frustration continued building as Rybakina took control again in the deciding set. Sabalenka struggled to find answers, while Rybakina kept forcing her into difficult points behind her serve. The Kazakh eventually closed out the final game 6-2, ending Sabalenka’s hopes of winning the US Open for a third straight year.

After match point, Sabalenka smashed her racket, and the disappointment finally became impossible to hide.