Aryna Sabalenka beams with joy over her portrait adorning US Open alongside Coco Gauff, Carlos Alcaraz & more as she gears up for title defense

Aryna Sabalenka is back at the US Open and all set to begin her preparations for defending her crown at this year's last Major. Upon her arrival at the prestigious hardcourt Slam in New York, the Belarusian was delighted as she saw her potrait adorning a wall inside the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center alongside portraits of other past men's and women's singles champions including Coco Gauff and Carlos Alcaraz.

At the 2024 US Open, Sabalenka won her third Major singles title and maiden singles title at Flushing Meadows after defeating home favorite Jessica Pegula in the final. Following her arrival at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center for this year's edition of the US Open, the reigning WTA No. 1 took to her Instagram Stories and shared a post that reflected her delight.

The post featured a photo displaying the portraits of several past US Open men's and women's singles champions. Above Aryna Sabalenka's portrait, the portrait of last year's men's singles champion Jannik Sinner was placed. Next in line was 2023 women's singles champion Coco Gauff's portrait, below which the one of 2022 men's singles champion Carlos Alcaraz could be seen. Sabalenka captioned the post:

"@usopen I missed this place so much 🤩🤞🤞🤞"

Sabalenka's Instagram Story featuring portraits of herself and other past US Open champions (Source: Instagram/arynasabalenka)

Aryna Sabalenka heads into US Open title defense after being dethroned in Cincinnati

Aryna Sabalenka at the 2025 Cincinnati Open (Source: Getty)

Aryna Sabalenka was the defending champion at the 2025 Cincinnati Open. However, her title defense at the WTA 1000 event of the iconic hardcourt tournament ended in the quarterfinals, as she suffered a 1-6, 4-6 defeat at the hands of Elena Rybakina. Iga Swiatek or Jasmine Paolini will be crowned the new champion in Cincinnati this year.

The 2024 US Open marked the Belarusian's most recent title triumph at a Major. Since then, she has played at three Grand Slams, reached the finals at two of them, and made it to the semis of another one.

At this year's Australian Open, Sabalenka progressed to the final, where she faced Madison Keys. Even though the Belarusian was the favorite on paper to win the women's singles title in Melbourne for a third successive year, Keys produced a display of remarkable resilience, ultimately being crowned a Major champion for the first time.

Sabalenka reached the 2025 French Open final as well. Here, it was Keys' compatriot Coco Gauff who dashed the Belarusian's hopes in the final. At the Wimbledon Championships, the reigning WTA No. 1's campaign came to an end in the last four with a loss to eventual runner-up Amanda Anisimova.