Sabalenka explained why she lost to Gauff in the US Open final

Belarusian tennis player Aryna Sabalenka believes that the main reason for her defeat in the final of the US Open to American Cori Gauff was that her opponent took advantage of her weaknesses at important moments of the game.

Sabalenka, seeded number two, lost to Gauff (6) in the US Open final with a score of 6:2, 3:6, 2:6

— In the first set, I coped well with my emotions. I was focused on myself, not on the audience. Of course, Gauff moved simply incredible. But in the second set I probably started to think too much, and because of this I seemed to lose strength. After that, she began to act even better, and I began to miss a lot of simple blows.

Gauff defended herself very well, better than anyone else. Therefore, I constantly had to play like an extra ball.

It’s a combination of everything. There were key moments in the second set where I lost. They helped her turn the game around. Then there was her simply amazing defensive play. But I would say that it was precisely because of these key moments in the second set, where it was more about me than about her, that I lost the match.

I can’t say that the problems with the hip were very serious. “I felt a lot of pressure on my left adductor muscle, so I called a physiotherapist, hoping that he would help and that I would start moving a little better,” Sabalenka said at a press conference.

Sabalenka will top the WTA rankings for the first time in her career since September 11. For 75 weeks, the first racket of the world was the Polish player Iga Szwiatek.