Aryna Sabalenka may have lost the US Open final and her world No. 1 ranking, but the support she received from the crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium left her with a special feeling.“Actually, at some point I felt like, ‘Oh, my God, I feel American,'” Sabalenka said after losing to Elena Rybakina in Saturday’s (local time) final.Sabalenka was denied a third consecutive US Open title as Rybakina won 6-4, 5-7, 6-2. Rybakina had already secured the No. 1 ranking before the final, meaning Sabalenka’s 99-week run at the top will end on Monday.The crowd continued to support Sabalenka as she fought back to take the second set and stayed behind her even as Rybakina took control in the decider.“It felt amazing,” Sabalenka said. “Actually, at some point I felt like, ‘Oh, my God, I feel American.’“I just wish I could, you know, win it and feel the support even more.”Sabalenka, 28, said she still had reasons to be happy with her performance at the tournament and would use the experience to come back stronger.“I think overall I should be happy with the level I played, and there’s lots of things to take from this tournament,” said the Belarusian, who had beaten world No. 4 Jessica Pegula in the semi-finals.It was the first time since 2022 that Sabalenka will finish a season without a Grand Slam title. She lost to Rybakina in the Australian Open final, reached the quarter-finals of the French Open and exited Wimbledon in the fourth round.Her last major title came at the Australian Open, while her most recent run of titles came with the Indian Wells-Miami double in March.“As experience shows, I only come back stronger, and all of these lessons this season definitely already made me stronger, but definitely going to motivate me for the next year to do (a) better job.”Sabalenka also said losing the No. 1 ranking would not change how opponents approach matches against her.“I think anyway when you go out there, you have target on your back. Doesn’t matter if you are No. 1, No. 2, 3, 4, whatever it is.“I’ll just keep working hard and keep improving my tennis, my level. Hopefully I will win some more tournaments,” she said.Despite losing the top ranking, Sabalenka will take pride in having spent 107 weeks as world No. 1, including 99 consecutive weeks.“Ninety-nine? Well, that’s amazing,” she said. “Let’s see if Elena can beat me in that.”
