Iga Swiatek beats Ons Jabeur for U.S. Open title
Iga Swiatek kisses the trophy after defeating Ons Jabeur in the U.S. Open women’s singles final at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on Saturday. Credit: Newsday/J. Conrad Williams Jr.
Iga Swiatek has emerged as the most dominant figure in the women's tennis after defeating Ons Jabeur, 6-2, 7-6 (5) on Saturday for her first U.S. Open title.
It was the third career Grand Slam crown for the 21-year-old from Poland as she won the French Open in 2020 and 2022. The win makes her the first woman since Angelique Kerber in 2015 to win two major titles in a single season. It was also her seventh title of the season.
“It’s really mind-blowing for me,” Swiatek said as she was presented with the trophy in Arthur Ashe Stadium. “I’m so proud I could handle it mentally.”
Swiatek was the hottest player on the tour in the middle of the season when she posted a 37-match winning streak that included her French Open win over Coco Gauff in the final. She went through a rough stretch after the French Open, losing in the third round of Wimbledon and failing to get past the round of 16 in the two tournaments heading into the U.S. Open.
“It was such a challenging time for me heading into the tournament,” she said. ““I needed to stay composed and focus on the goals,” Swiatek said during the trophy ceremony. “It’s New York and it’s so loud and crazy.”
Swiatek had little trouble blocking out the loud and craziness Saturday against the No. 5 Jabeur. She won 12 of the first 14 points to go up, 3-0, in the first eight minutes and won the set in half an hour.
The Tunisian Jabeur woke up in the second set to become the first player to win more than five games off of Swiatek in a final since Swiatek’s first WTA final in 2019.
Jabeur had three break chances with the set tied 4-all that would have allowed her to serve for the match. She failed to take advantage of the opportunity but managed to hang on and force a tiebreak even though Swiatek served for match in the final set.
Swiatek then won the last three points of the tiebreaker to clinch her first U.S. Open title. Minutes later, she was holding the trophy and accepting a $2.6 million check.
“I’m really glad that’s not in cash,” she said.
Swiatek is now 3-0 in Grand Slam finals. Jabeur is 0-2 having lost to Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan in a three-set Wimbledon final this year.
“I had my chances today,” said Jabeur, who this year became the first African woman and first Arab woman to reach a Grand Slam final. “To be honest I have nothing to regret because I did everything possible. Iga, you know how she plays in finals.”
Both players have plenty of more years to play one another and it was clear on the trophy stand that they shared a bond. Jabeur has talked frequently about wanting to inspire more young girls from her area of the world to get involved in tennis.
Swiatek has spoken out frequently against the Russian invasion of Ukraine and helped raise $2 million for relief efforts by organizing tennis exhibitions.
Swiatek called Jabeur an inspiration after the match, adding they were both “trying to do our best to be good people and good examples.”
Barbara Barker is an award-winning columnist and features writer in the sports department at Newsday. She has covered sports in New York for more than 20 years.
