The WTA US Open has climaxed with a bang, as Aryna Sabalenka clinched her second consecutive New York triumph, her fourth Grand Slam title, defeating home-favourite Amanda Anisimova in straight sets.Whilst the Belarusian may have stood above the other 127 competitors, there were many other winners at the US Open in their own unique way. These big tournaments are perfect chances for tennis players to make their name, to compete and beat the best, which culminates in catapulting themselves up the rankings.
However, not everyone has left New York as a winner, with many leaving disappointed in their performances and not reaching their goals. Here are the winners and losers from the 2025 WTA US Open.
Winner – Amanda Anisimova
The American defied the odds a couple of months ago by reaching the Wimbledon final, knocking out the world number one Sabalenka to set up a showdown against Iga Swiatek. It would prove to be not just a damaging defeat for the 24-year-old but an embarrassing one, failing to win a single game in a ruthless victory from the Pole.
Now at her home Grand Slam, she was hoping to change the fortunes and headlines from Wimbledon, and she did that, reacting in insiring fashion.
She overcame a pair of Aussies in her first matches, knocking out Kimberly Birrell and Maya Joint before taking down Jaqueline Cristian in three sets. She only lost three games in a confortable victory over Beatriz Haddad Maia, to set up a quarter-final against Swiatek. There was a lot of talk around the match, with Swiatek playing some imperious tennis. It would be the golden chance for Anisimova to change the narrative around the tie, and she nailed it.
Getting revenge on Swiatek sent out a huge statement to the rest of the field that she is someone to be feared. She fell behind Naomi Osaka in the semi-final in a tight tiebreak, but held her nerve to win the next tiebreak to send it to a deciding set, showing her class in dumping out the two-time US Open winner and setting up a repeat of the SW19 semi-final against Sabalenka. Whilst holding her own, she succumbed to a second Grand Slam defeat in a row. However, now up to a new high ranking of fourth, she leaves New York with her head held high.
Amanda Anisimova
Loser – Coco Gauff
The 21-year-old had the chance to leave Flushing Meadows as the world number one. Instead, she raises more negative questions over her game and is now looking behind her instead of in front.
Since triumphing at Roland Garros, she has not had the best of times. Being dumped out in the forst round at Wimbledon, she endured frustrating campaigns in Montreal and Cincinnati ahead of the final major of 2025. A big part of this was due to her unreliable serve, which led to more double faults and a vulnerable second serve. She called on the wisdom of Gavin MacMillan to get her back up to scratch, but it would turn out not to be enough.
The 2022 winner managed to squeeze through her first round tie agianst Alja Tomljanovic in a competitive match. She would dispose Donna Vekic and Magdalena Frech with more commanding performances, but would come under the cosh against Osaka, whose attacking tennis was too much for Gauff to deal with, who crashed out of her home Grand Slam in miserable fashion.
Still the world number three, Gauff remains at the pinnacle of women’s tennis. However, her recent on-court struggles need to be fixed quickly to prevent this temporary blimp from elongating.
Coco Gauff
Winner – Naomi Osaka
A semi-final for a four-time Grand Slam winner would normally be seen as a disappointing performance and an underachievement. This could not be said for Osaka, who reached the last four in a Grand Slam for the first time since the Australian Open in 2021. Since then, her tennis career went downhill, and she was even pushed aside when she struggled with her mental health, taking a break in 2023. It has taken her sometime to get back up to the levels she onced possessed on the court, but finally we are starting to see the best of Osaka again.
She went into the US Open after a brilliant Canadian Open campaign, making a run all the way to the final before being defeated in three sets by young superstar Victoria Mboko. She tactically skipped the following Cincinnati Open to prepare for the last major of the year, which turned out to be a good call.
Comfortably bypassing Greet Minnen and Hailey Baptiste in straight sets, she then knocked out former world number eight Daria Kasatkina in three sets to set up a tie against the world number three and two-time Grand Slam champion Gauff in an intriguing tie. With the American struggling with her game, Osaka took advantage and dumped her out to reach the quarter-finals for the first time in four years. She celebrated that with a victory over 2023 Roland Garros finalist Karolina Muchova.
Anisimova proved to be too much for her in the semi-finals, but it is a blast from the past from what we had previously witnessed from the former world number one. Now up to number 14, it is fair to say that she was a big winner from Flushing Meadows.
Naomi Osaka
Loser – Madison Keys
Earlier this year, Keys surprised the tennis world by clinching glory in Melbourne over Sabalenka to claim her first Grand Slam. On the same surface, she had high expectations to push on and go deep again, but this would not be the case.
She has had a positive history at Flushing Meadows, reaching her first Grand Slam final in 2017, losing to Sloane Stephens. Two years ago, she was a set away from making her second, but was pegged back by Sabalenka. She was hoping on going on a deeper run than the third round exit last year.
Her first round tie was against Mexican Renata Zarazua. The first set went the distance, with the American coming out on top in it. However, the world number 82 fought back and avenged that tiebreak loss with her levelling with the same outcome. She would then get an all break at the end of the third set to knock out the world number six and advance.
For Keys, she has gone from winning a Grand Slam at the start of the year to being dumped out of the last one in the first round. Fortunately, she has not lost too many points due to that third round defeat last year, but it is still a damaging defeat after a fantastic opportunity was on offer to nick some more points.
Madison Keys
Winner – Marketa Vondrousova
After enduring an annoying period on the sidelines, coupled with negative results, a US Open quarter-final for the Czech is a fantastic result. The shock 2023 Wimbledon winner achieved her second consecuitve Flushing Meadows last eight after missing last year’s event with a hand injury, which also saw her miss the Olympics and Australian Open, along with the first few months of 2025.
She started her campaign with a win over qualifier Oksana Selekhmeteva, before dumping out three consecutive seeds in the form of McCartney Kessler, Jasmine Paolini, and Elena Rybakina in an impressive string of results.
This set up a quarter-final tie against Sabalenka, but unfortunately, she was forced to withdraw through injury, citing a knee problem. But with the names she knocked out and the deep run she made despite being ranked 60th in the world, she firmly goes down as a winner.
Marketa Vondrousova
Loser – Victoria Mboko
After bursting on the scene in a phenomenal debut season on the professional tour, Mboko was touted for great achievements at the US Open after winning the Canadian Open as an 18-year-old, defeating the likes of Gauff, Rybakina, and Osaka in the final.
Along with Osaka, she skipped the Cincinnati Open to get herself in the optimal condition for the final major of the year. However, it would be the only Grand Slam event she entered where she did not get a win from.
Seeded 22nd, she was unfortunate to have been drawn an extremely tough first-round match against two-time Grand Slam champion Barbora Krejcikova. She was unable to make a dent in the Czech, losing 6-3, 6-2 to exit in the first round. Despite this, she is still extremely young and will be back in force.
Victoria Mboko
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