"After I lost my father, it's been my goal to put our family name in tennis history" - Aryna Sabalenka after winning third Major at US Open 2024
Aryna Sabalenka has spoken up about her goal to write the name of her family in tennis after winning the US Open. According to the Belarusian, she set the goal after the tragic and untimely death of her father Sergey in 2019.
Sabalenka's heavy-hitting and ever-improving variety of shots were on full display in the women's singles final at Flushing Meadows. On the other side of the net, home favorite Jessica Pegula tried her best to hang on, but ultimately couldn't do enough, with the Belarusian emerging triumphant with a 7-5, 7-5 win.
Sabalenka has now won three singles Major titles in two years (2023 and 2024 Australian Open titles, 2024 US Open).
After the conclusion of the trophy presentation ceremony, Aryna Sabalenka attended a press conference, where she talked about her aim to immortalize her family name in tennis. The Belarusian revealed that this became her purpose in life following father Sergey's death in 2019 due to meningitis complications.
"After I lost my father, it's always been my goal to put our family name in the history of tennis. And every time I see my name on that trophy, I'm so proud of myself, I'm proud of my family that they never gave up on my dream. And that they were doing everything they could to keep me going. And so I had this opportunity in life. So it really means a lot," Aryna Sabalenka said.
The World No. 2 also expressed her disbelief at the successes she has achieved with her team so far.
"And yeah, that's just, it's just always been my dream, and I still kind of cannot believe that I was able to achieve, like, me with my team, were able to achieve so much already," Aryna Sabalenka added.
Sabalenka's father Sergey, a former ice hockey player, was the one who introduced her to tennis when she was a child. Before the commencement of the 2024 US Open, Sabalenka voiced her wish of him still being alive while talking about the similarities in their personalities.
"My personality came from my father" - Aryna Sabalenka
At a pre-tournament press conference in Flushing Meadows, Sabalenka pointed to the similarity of her personality with her late father's. The Belarusian also wished that Sergey would still be alive, opining that the father-daughter duo would have enjoyed a lot, courtesy her meteoric rise to the elite level of women's tennis.
"I mean, I think my personality came from my father. I wish he would be still alive. I think we would have so much fun together right now," Sabalenka said.
The 2024 US Open Series has been a resounding success for Sabalenka. The Belarusian reached at least the quarterfinals across the four events she participated in; the Citi Open (semifinals), the National Bank Open in Toronto (quarterfinals), the Cincinnati Open (winner) and most recently, the US Open.