Amanda Anisimova booked her spot in the U.S. Open final after a thrilling comeback win over Naomi Osaka, rallying from a set down to triumph 6-7(4), 7-6(3), 6-3 under the lights of Arthur Ashe Stadium.

The 23rd seed, playing her first major semi-final since 2021, showed grit and composure to outlast the four-time Grand Slam champion, earning back-to-back Slam finals and another shot at her maiden crown.

“Oh my God. It means the world,” the 24-year-old said after reaching her first final at Flushing Meadows.

“I’m trying to process that right now. It’s absolutely a dream come true. This has been a dream of mine like forever to be in the U.S. Open final and the hope is to be the champion.”

Twice New York champion Osaka was playing in her first major semi-final since 2021 and embraced the big occasion in the prime-time glare of Arthur Ashe Stadium.

The pair twice traded breaks in a tight opening set, and after a delayed line call by the automated system disrupted play Osaka refocused and let out a big roar when Anisimova hit a shot into the net on set point in the tiebreak.

The 23rd seed struggled to carry the momentum forward in the next set, however, with Anisimova matching Osaka’s intensity.

After the players traded ferocious hits for 12 games in the next set, Anisimova pounced in the tiebreak to drag the match to a decider.

The eighth seed, who lost 6-0 6-0 to Iga Swiatek in the Wimbledon final two months ago, surged ahead 4-1 thanks to a forehand winner and held her nerve from there to close out the victory and reach back-to-back Grand Slam finals.

“She was really giving me a run for the final. I wasn’t sure I would make past the finish line. I tried to dig deep. It was a huge fight out there,” Anisimova added.

“I tried to stay positive. There was a lot of nerves in the beginning and that’s something I’m trying to work on. Yeah, this tournament means so much to me that I think that was really getting to me.

“In the end, you’re just trying to fight your way through. I’m trying to enjoy the moment. We were both playing amazing tennis, and sometimes that was like ‘how are we making these shots?’ but we were and we just kept going.”

Awaiting her is defending champion and world number one Aryna Sabalenka, who stormed back to defeat Jessica Pegula 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in a pressure-packed semi-final. The Belarusian overpowered the American with 43 winners and eight aces, keeping alive her bid to become the first woman since Serena Williams (2013–14) to claim back-to-back U.S. Open titles.

The Belarusian recovered from a nervy start in a rematch of the 2024 finale, drowning out the partisan fans at Arthur Ashe Stadium and overwhelming the fourth seed with 43 winners and eight aces.

Pegula brought some of her best tennis to Flushing Meadows this year but after winning the first set she struggled to absorb the three-time major winner’s power.

“I really played great tennis. I think I handled that pressure really well,” said Sabalenka.

“The whole match I just keep telling myself, into the next one, just one step at a time, don’t worry about the past. Just try better in the next point.”

Pegula had just three unforced errors in the first set and got the upper hand after trading early breaks as Sabalenka sent a shot past the baseline on break point in the ninth game.

Sabalenka left the court before the second set and came back out of the tunnel with new resolve. She won the first three games, breaking the American with a forehand winner in the second, and upped her level across the board.

Sabalenka broke again in the opening game of the final set and showed her mettle as she fended off three break points in a marathon sixth.

Pegula had a bit more fight left in her, however, as she saved two match points before Sabalenka closed it out with a forehand winner and shouted at the top of her lungs in celebration.

The win gives Sabalenka another chance to secure her first major this season, after finishing runner-up at the Australian Open and French Open, and losing in the Wimbledon semi-finals.

“If I’ll be able to hold that trophy, it’s going to mean a lot for me. I’ll be just the happiest person on earth probably,” she told reporters.

Pegula also lost to Sabalenka in the Miami final earlier this year, we well as in the 2024 Cincinnati championship match, and now trails the Belarusian 2-8 in career head-to-head meetings.

“Strategically I played her much better than I have played her the last few times. I feel like going into the next match, I kind of know what I need to do. Obviously executing it is a different story,” she told reporters.

“It was too good from her today at some points.”

“I’ll go out there on Saturday and I’ll fight for every point like the last point of my life,” she said.