Women with multiple hard-court Grand Slam titles in a year
Second seed Aryna Sabalenka won the 2024 women's singles US Open title after beating Jessica Pegula in straight sets. The former won 7-5, 7-5 to lift her third Grand Slam title. This marked her second major title of the year. As per Opta, Sabalenka has become the fifth woman to win multiple hard-court Grand Slam titles in year. Here's the list.
Steffi Graf (1988 and 1989)
22-time Grand Slam champion Steffi Graf had an incredible run in 1988. She became the second-ever woman to complete the Grand Slam (Open Era), which means winning all four majors in a calendar year. Notably, Graf also won three of the four Grand Slams the following year, losing only the French Open final. She lost a solitary Grand Slam match in two years.
Monica Seles (1991 and 1992)
Former world number one, Monica Seles, had a similar run in 1991 and 1992. The nine-time champion won each of the three Grand Slams she featured in, missing Wimbledon. Seles once again won the three majors in 1992, having lost the Wimbledon final. Notably, Seles remains the only other woman to have won two hard-court Grand Slam events in multiple years.
Martina Hingis (1997)
Swiss star Martina Hingis was unstoppable in her third year since first featuring at a Grand Slam main draw. Hingis started the year 1997 by winning the Australian Open. She then finished as the French Open runner-up after losing the final to Iva Majoli. Hingis won back-to-back Grand Slam titles at Wimbledon and US Open thereafter.
Angelique Kerber (2016)
In a career spanning over 15 years, German star Angelique Kerber has won three Grand Slam singles title. Kerber, who hasn't won a major match in over two years, had a sublime run in 2016, where she won the Australian Open. Although Kerber suffered a first-round exit at Roland Garros, she finished as the Wimbledon runner-up. Kerber ended the year with US Open title.
Sabalenka joins these veterans
As mentioned, Sabalenka has become the fifth woman to have won multiple hard-court Grand Slam singles title in a year. As per Opta, Sabalenka also has the fourth-highest win percentage in women's singles Grand Slam events in a year since 2000.
