WATCH: Aryna Sabalenka joyfully sprays boyfriend Georgios Frangulis & team with champagne, drinks out of US Open trophy to celebrate 3rd Major title
Aryna Sabalenka lifted her third Grand Slam trophy at the 2024 US Open on Saturday, September 8. She defeated home-hope Jessica Pegula 7-5, 7-5 to win her maiden US Open title and was later seen dancing on the court and popping champagne in the locker room.
After winning the championship point, Sabalenka fell on her knees and lay on the court, shedding happy tears. The two-time Australian Open winner has now won more singles Grand Slam titles than any other Belarusian player, surpassing Victoria Azarenka, who won the Australian Open in 2012 and 2013.
In a clip posted by US Open on their Instagram handle, Sabalenka can be seen entering the locker room and spraying champagne on her team as well as her boyfriend, Georgios Frangulis. The clip hilariously cuts to everyone spraying champagne back on Sabalenka who was running away from the locker room.
The US Open's channel on X also posted a short video of Sabalenka wherein she was seen pouring champagne into the US Open trophy cup and drinking from it.
"Champagne just tastes better out of a [trophy emoji]" the caption read.
Sabalenka raised the Cup as she smiled and posed for the cameras in the room.
Aryna Sabalenka reflects on her journey to the US Open title: "Never give up on your dream"
Aryna Sabalenka's hard-earned victory and celebrations come after two semifinal appearances and a runner-up finish at the New York Slam. She fell short in the semifinals in 2021 and 2022, losing to Leylah Fernandez and Iga Swiatek, respectively. Last year, Sabalenka reached the finals of the US Open before falling to Coco Gauff 6-2, 3-6, 2-6.
During the presentation ceremony at the 2024 US Open, when asked to reflect on her losses before tasting victory this year at the hardcourt Major, the Belarusian underlined her mindset and said:
"I remember all those tough losses in the past here and it's gonna sound easy but never give up on your dream and just keep trying, keep working hard and if you're really working hard and you're sacrificing everything for your dream then you're gonna get it one day," Sabalenka said [at 1:43].
Following her victories at the Australian Open and the US Open, the Belarusian became the fifth woman to have won both hardcourt Majors in the same year in the Open era after Steffi Graf, Monica Seles, Martina Hingis, and Angelique Kerber.