Aryna Sabalenka reached one step closer to defending her US Open title after she defeated fourth seed Jessica Pegula in three sets at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Thursday, August 4. The World No. 1 dropped the first set 4-6 but won the next two sets 6-3, 6-4. Now, she'll face the winner of the second semifinal between Naomi Osaka and Amanda Anisimova. Sabalenka is aiming for her fourth title win in the majors.
After the match, Sabalenka's boyfriend, Georgios Frangulis, who enjoyed the contest with his friends on the television, captured the moment when the Belarusian acknowledged the fans' appreciation in New York. He dropped a four-word comment:
"Yeah baby! Let’s go!"

One month after the tragic passing of her former partner, Konstantin Koltsov, in March 2024, Aryna Sabalenka and Brazilian entrepreneur Georgios Frangulis were first publicly spotted together. Sabalenka admitted that Frangulis helped her get over the death of his former partner "by always making sure that we are doing some fun stuff."
What started as a professional connection since Sabalenka became an ambassador for Oakberry, an açaí superfood brand founded by Frangulis, evolved romantically as her boyfriend became a familiar face at her matches, including attending major tournaments like Madrid, Cincinnati Masters (August 2024), and the US Open (September 2024).
Aryna Sabalenka happy after making her second straight US Open finals
Last year, Aryna Sabalenka defeated Jessica Pegula 7-5, 7-5 to win her first US Open title. Now, she is happy that she has the opportunity to do it back-to-back after reaching her third consecutive finals at Flushing Meadows. The Belarusian also sang praises of her opponent, Pegula, who made it tougher after winning the first set. Sabalenka said:
"It was a really tough match -- she played incredible tennis as always and I had to work really hard to get this win."
“I’m just super happy to be in the finals again and hopefully I can go all the way again. I was just praying inside and hoping for the best. I’ll go out there on Saturday and I’ll fight for every point like (it’s) the last point of my life,” she added.
In the match, Sabalenka managed to smash eight aces against Pegula's three. Both players made four double faults each. Moreover, both players had seven break-point opportunities, out of which Sabalenka converted on three of them, while Pegula could only convert two.