Aryna Sabalenka fined $7,500 by USTA after conduct in US Open final

Aryna Sabalenka was fined $7,500 by the United States Tennis Association for her conduct during the US Open final at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Saturday, September 12, where she lost 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 to Elena Rybakina.

The penalty followed a code violation after Sabalenka hit a ball into the crowd following a break in the opening set. During the match she also angrily struck a ball toward the back of the court that narrowly missed a cameraman, and she smashed her racket several times while sitting on her bench before the trophy presentation. Sabalenka entered the match as the two-time defending champion and was attempting to become only the third woman in the Open Era to win three consecutive US Open titles.

Sabalenka struggled to impose her usual aggressive game early, allowing Rybakina to take the first set. The world No.1 raised her intensity in the second set, converting that momentum into a 7-5 set win to level the match and force a decider.

In the final set Rybakina regained control, breaking early and exploiting longer rallies as Sabalenka committed errors under pressure. Rybakina closed out the third set to claim her first US Open title.

Sabalenka had reached the final without dropping a set prior to the championship match, extending a run that included 20 consecutive victories at Flushing Meadows before the final defeat. Earlier in 2026 she completed the Sunshine Double in March, winning Indian Wells and Miami in succession, and those remained her only titles since Brisbane earlier in the year; she had not lifted another trophy since Miami.

Sabalenka finishes 2026 without a Grand Slam title; she reached the Australian Open final earlier in the year but lost to Rybakina before falling to the Kazakh again in New York.