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Aryna Sabalenka beats Jessica Pegula in two sets to win the U.S. Open
Aryna Sabalenka got past Jessica Pegula 7-5, 7-5 in a rollicking U.S. Open women’s final Saturday to win her first championship at Flushing Meadows and third Grand Slam title of her career.
Sabalenka, a 26-year-old from Belarus, adds this trophy to the two she earned at the Australian Open each of the past two seasons, also on hard courts. And the victory allowed her to leave Arthur Ashe Stadium in a far better mood than when she was the runner-up to Coco Gauff at the 2023 U.S. Open.
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Sabalenka will each earn a $3.6 million check — a 20% bump from the $3 million winners earned in 2023. All four semifinalists in both singles draws will get $1 million a piece. Notably, this year marks the 50th anniversary of male and female players earning equal prize money at the tournament.
Pegula, a native New Yorker whose parents own the NFL’s Buffalo Bills and NHL’s Buffalo Sabres, was participating in a major final for the first time. She’s won 15 of her past 17 matches over the past month but both losses came against Sabalenka in tournament finals. Pegula will get $1.8 million this year as the runner-up, according to official figures from the Queens, New York, tournament.
contributed to this report.
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Yellowstone hiker burned when she falls into scalding water near Old Faithful, park officials say
Yellowstone National Park, Wyo. — A New Hampshire woman suffered severe burns on her leg after hiking off-trail in Yellowstone National Park and falling into scalding water in a thermal area near the Old Faithful geyser, park officials said.
The 60-year-old woman from Windsor, New Hampshire, along with her husband and their leashed dog were walking off a designated trail near the Mallard Lake Trailhead on Monday afternoon when she broke through a thin crust over the water and suffered second- and third-degree burns to her lower leg, park officials said. Her husband and the dog weren’t injured.
The woman was flown to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls, Idaho for treatment.
National Park Service / Jacob W. Frank
Park visitors are reminded to stay on boardwalks and trails in hydrothermal areas and exercise extreme caution. The ground in those areas is fragile and thin and there’s scalding water just below the surface, park officials said.
Pets are allowed in limited, developed areas of Yellowstone park but are prohibited on boardwalks, hiking trails, in the backcountry and in thermal areas.
The incident is under investigation. The woman’s name wasn’t made public.
This is the first known thermal injury in Yellowstone in 2024, park officials said in a statement. The park had recorded 3.5 million visitors through August this year.
Hot springs have injured and killed more people in Yellowstone National Park than any other natural feature, the National Park Service said. At least 22 people have died from hot spring-related injuries in and around the 3,471-square-mile national park since 1890, park officials have said.