US Open champion Aryna Sabalenka is as good as it gets on hard courts but isn't just a hard hitter

NEW YORK (AP) — Even after winning her first U.S. Open championship for a third Grand Slam title, Aryna Sabalenka made clear she doesn't consider herself a finished product.

“Hopefully one day we’re gonna see me serve-and-volley,” she said with a hearty laugh. “I’m not sure I’m brave enough to do that, but maybe once I will come up with this ‘Plan C.’ Hopefully we’ll never need it, but whatever. Whatever it takes.”

Sabalenka reminded everyone with her 7-5, 7-5 victory over Jessica Pegula at Flushing Meadows in the final Saturday that she is as good as it gets on hard courts these days. The No. 2-ranked Sabalenka is 27-1 on that surface at majors over the past two seasons, with two Australian Open trophies in that span and a run to the 2023 U.S. Open final before losing to Coco Gauff.

The 26-year-old from Belarus also provided just the latest example of how powerful her serve and groundstrokes are — her forehand speeds at the U.S. Open were higher than all women and men in the tournament — and how they can overwhelm an opponent.

Even when the stakes are the highest, she can truly come through.

“I mean, I know that I have to go for it. That’s the only way it works for me, because every time I’m trying to play safer ... I stop my arms, and the ball flies in the stands,” Sabalenka said. “So a long time ago, I decided for myself: In those important moments, I just have to go for it. I have to swing.”

Saturday's first set was tied at 5-all, and Sabalenka took the last two games.

In the second set, she trailed 5-3 before grabbing the last four.

“She played some big tennis,” said Pegula, who will move up to No. 3 in the rankings, “in some big moments.”

What was most impressive, perhaps, and might worry the other top women in the sport more than anything, is the way Sabalenka showed off some variety, willing to try something other than her intimidating, shout-accompanied groundstrokes at critical junctures.

At the end of the opening set, for example, with Pegula serving and trying to force a tiebreaker, Sabalenka used a drop shot to bring her opponent forward before striking a down-the-line forehand passing winner. Later in that game, when Pegula was just one point from getting to 6-all, Sabalenka crafted a terrific volley to get to deuce. Then, after a double-fault, Sabalenka broke to own that set with a drop shot that drew a netted response.

“It's really good to have these options in your pocket. Like sometimes, you don’t feel your best on the baseline, and you can just go for a slice or a drop shot or come to the net. I mean, I’ve been always working on this variation on the court," Sabalenka said. “I’m really glad that I’m brave enough to use these tools.”

In addition to helping win a particular exchange here or there, she continued, having that versatility makes life more difficult for the women on the other side of the net.

Just another reason she has won 12 matches in a row.

“I feel (as if) I put even more pressure on the opponents when they see I’m not only a hard hitter (and) I can also play with some touch,” Sabalenka said. “So we always work on (those aspects) of my game.”

Howard Fendrich has been the AP’s tennis writer since 2002. Find his stories here: https://apnews.com/author/howard-fendrich

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

Aryna Sabalenka, of Belarus, returns a shot to Jessica Pegula, of the United States, during the women's singles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Aryna Sabalenka, of Belarus, and Jessica Pegula, of the United States, wait for the start of the trophy ceremony after Sabalenka won the women's singles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Aryna Sabalenka, of Belarus, records images after defeating Jessica Pegula, of the United States, in the women's singles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

Aryna Sabalenka, of Belarus, kisses the trophy after winning the women's singles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships against Jessica Pegula, of the United States, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Aryna Sabalenka, of Belarus, kisses the trophy after winning the women's singles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships against Jessica Pegula, of the United States, , Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

GENEVA (AP) — Two former Olympic champions are in the race to be the next IOC president. So is a prince of a Middle East kingdom and the son of a former president. The global leaders of cycling, gymnastics and skiing also are in play.

The International Olympic Committee published a list Monday of seven would-be candidates who are set to run for election in March to succeed outgoing president Thomas Bach for the next eight years.

Just one woman, IOC executive board member Kirsty Coventry from Zimbabwe, entered the contest to lead an organization that has had only male presidents in its 130-year history. Eight of those presidents were from Europe and one from the United States.

Coventry and Sebastian Coe are two-time gold medalists in swimming and running, respectively. Prince Feisal al Hussein of Jordan is also on the IOC board.

Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr. of Spain is one of the four IOC vice presidents, whose father was president for 21 years until 2001.

David Lappartient is the president of cycling’s governing body, Morinari Watanabe leads gymnastics, and Johan Eliasch is president of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation. Coe is the president of track’s World Athletics.

All seven met a deadline of Sunday to send a letter of intent to Bach, who must leave the post next year after reaching the maximum 12 years in office. Bach declined at the Paris Olympics last month to seek to change IOC rules in order to stay in office longer.

A formal candidate list should be confirmed in January, three months before the March 18-21 election meeting in Greece, near the site of Ancient Olympia.

Only IOC members are eligible to stand as candidates, with votes cast by the rest of the 111-strong membership of the Olympic body.

The IOC is one of the most exclusive clubs in world sports. Its members are drawn from European and Middle East royalty, leaders of international sports bodies, former and current Olympic athletes, politicians and diplomats plus industrialists, including some billionaires like Eliasch.

It makes for one of the most discreet and quirky election campaigns in world sports, with members prevented from publicly endorsing their pick.

Campaign limits on the candidates include a block on publishing videos, organizing public meetings and taking part in public debates. The IOC will organize a closed-door meeting for candidates to address voters in January in its home city Lausanne, Switzerland.

The IOC top job ideally calls for deep knowledge of managing sports, understanding athletes’ needs and nimble skills in global politics.

The president oversees an organization that earns billions of dollars in revenue from broadcasting and sponsor deals for the Olympic Games and employs hundreds of staff in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Coe has been widely considered the most qualified candidate. A two-time Olympic champion in the 1,500-meters, he was later an elected lawmaker in Britain in the 1990s, led the 2012 London Olympics organizing committee and has presided at World Athletics for nine years.

However, he has potential legal hurdles regarding his ability to serve a full eight-year mandate. The IOC has an age limit of 70 for members, while Coe will be 68 on election day. The rules allow for a special exemption to remain for four more years, but that would mean a six-year presidency unless those limits are changed.

Coventry, who turned 41 Monday, also has government experience as the appointed sports minister in Zimbabwe.

The only woman ever to stand as an IOC presidential candidate was Anita DeFrantz, a former Olympic rower from the United States. She was eliminated in the first round of voting in a five-candidate election in 2001, which was won by Jacques Rogge.

Lappartient also is president of France's national Olympic body and has carried strong momentum from the Paris Summer Games. He leads a French Alps project that was picked to host the 2030 Winter Games and was picked by Bach to oversee a long-term project sealed in Paris that will see Saudi Arabia hosting the Esports Olympic Games through 2035.

Eliasch is perhaps the most surprising candidate after being elected as an IOC member in Paris less than two months ago. The Swedish-British owner of the Head sportswear brand got 17 “no” votes, a notably high number in Olympic politics.

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games

FILE - International Olympic Committee (IOC) Vice President Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr. speaks during a press conference at the headquarters of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics Organizing Committee in Beijing, Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2018. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)

FILE - IOC member and former swimmer Kirsty Coventry smiles on the arrival for a press conference after the executive board meeting of the IOC, at the Olympic House, in Lausanne, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2020. (Laurent Gillieron/Keystone via AP, File)

FILE - World Athletics President Sebastian Coe holds a press conference at the conclusion of the World Athletics meeting at the Italian National Olympic Committee, headquarters in Rome, Nov. 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, File)

FILE - IOC President Thomas Bach addresses the audience during the 2024 Summer Olympics closing ceremony at the Stade de France, Aug. 11, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis, File)