Aryna Sabalenka Dominates in US Open Match

Under the New York lights, Aryna Sabalenka looked like herself again.

The top seed tore through Russian qualifier Polina Iatcenko 6-1, 6-1 on Wednesday night, a ruthless, one-sided win that felt less like a contest and more like a statement. On this court, at this tournament, the four-time Grand Slam champion still owns the stage.

Sabalenka, chasing a third straight US Open crown, needed just a few games to make it clear there would be no drama. She stormed to a 5-0 lead in the opening set, ripping winners at will and pinning the 22-year-old debutant deep behind the baseline. Iatcenko, playing her first main-draw match at a major, finally got on the board, but the damage was already done.

The numbers told the story. Sabalenka dropped only four points on serve in the first set, brushing aside any hint of the serving lapses that have haunted her in recent months. Her power was controlled, her footwork sharp, her intent obvious: this was not the version of Sabalenka that stumbled at Roland Garros and Wimbledon or drifted through a patchy North American hard-court swing.

The night session seemed to feed her. “Night atmosphere is always the best atmosphere,” she said afterwards, and she played like someone plugged directly into the energy of Arthur Ashe’s glare and the New York noise.

Iatcenko, ranked 160 in the world and fresh from qualifying, did manage a brief flicker of resistance in the second set, breaking Sabalenka once to avoid a double-bagel scoreline. The response was immediate. Sabalenka snapped back, reeling off the next three games to close out the match with the kind of authority that has defined her run at Flushing Meadows.

This was her 15th consecutive victory at the US Open, a streak that underlines how firmly she has made this tournament her own. Yet the more interesting shift came in how she spoke about herself. The player who had looked frayed and frustrated in the middle of the season sounded steadier, almost stripped back.

She told reporters she feels “way stronger” mentally than she did a few months ago and more solid physically as well. The perfectionist edge that once cut into her own confidence has been deliberately blunted. “I’m happy with my level. I’ve been working really hard, but I feel like I’m moving away from trying to be perfect on court,” she said. “I know that you cannot be perfect, and I’m just trying to work with what I have right now.”

That shift in mindset matches what unfolded under the lights: less searching, more trusting. When the forehand was there, she swung. When it wasn’t, she reset and built the point again. No theatrics, no unnecessary risk. Just pressure, applied relentlessly.

Next up is 92nd-ranked Kamilla Rakhhimova of Uzbekistan in the third round, a different test but one Sabalenka will enter as an overwhelming favourite. If this performance is any indication, the defending champion has parked the doubts of her summer and rejoined the hunt in New York on her own terms.

On this court, at this time of year, the question is no longer whether Sabalenka can find her game. It’s who, if anyone, can live with it.