Aryna Sabalenka is back on top. For the second year in a row, the Belarusian tennis pro has won the women’s singles U.S. Open title.
After a 2025 filled with disappointments, Sabalenka withstood a final match against American pro Amanda Anisimova, the same player who trounced Sabalenka in the Wimbledon semifinals in July. Sabalenka, who is currently the world No. 1 ranked women’s singles player, held off a late-match rally from Anisimova to clinch the win at 6-3, 7-6 (3).
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On foot, Anisimova laced up her trusty Nike Vapor 12 sneakers in a customized colorway. The Belarusian star wore two different variations of the model throughout the U.S. Open — one sporting fierce tiger-inspired striping and a second white, pink and silver look adorned with glitzy silver stars — before eventually defending her title in the latter look.
Both Nike Vapor 12 pairs feature explicit nods to Sabalenka “The Tiger” nickname including a graphic of the cat on the tongue. The starry pair worn by Sabalenka in the finals references her walk-out attire and the “elevated flash of New York fashion and nightlife,” a Nike spokesperson told tennis outlet The Second Serve.
“There were a few moments where I was like this close to just letting it go,” Sabalenka admitted in a post-match press conference. “But I was like, ‘Come on now. You cannot do that. You just have to stay focused and keep going, keep trying.’ And it’s really helped me.”
Sabalenka’s triumph comes after a year of uncharacteristic disappointments in majors competition for the star. In January, while attempting to secure her third straight Australian Open win, Sabalenka was defeated in the finals by America’s Madison Keys. The French Open followed, where Sabalenka again reached the finals before falling to Coco Gauff. And in September, at Wimbledon, Sabalenka fell to Anisimova in the semifinals.
But Saturday spelled a return to winning form for Sabalenka, who captured her second straight U.S. Open title. The successful defense makes her the first woman since Serena Williams in 2013 and 2014 to win consecutive U.S. Opens.
The U.S. Open men’s singles final takes place Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET from Arthur Ashe Stadium and will pit Italian pro Jannik Sinner against Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz.
While Sabalenka’s personalized Nike Vapor 12s are not available for purchase, other styles of the tennis shoe are available now from nike.com, with select colorways on sale for $126.97 and others priced at the model’s standard retail of $180.
