Elena Rybakina won her first U.S. Open title and punctuated her climb to the top of women’s tennis by beating Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 on Saturday. Rybakina had already been guaranteed to replace Sabalenka at No. 1 in the rankings next week and for good measure took the U.S. Open title that Sabalenka had won the previous two years. It was the third Grand Slam title for Rybakina and the second this year. She opened the season by beating Sabalenka for the Australian Open title. This time, she stopped Sabalenka’s 19-match winning streak at the U.S. Open, where she hadn’t lost since falling to Coco Gauff in the 2023 final.
FILE - Elena Rybakina, left, of Kazakhstan, holds the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup after defeating Aryna Sabalenka, right, of Belarus, in the women's singles final at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Jan. 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara, File)
Coco Gauff fought off a couple match points in a tiebreaker and beat Mirra Andreeva 2-6, 7-6 (7), 6-2 to set up a U.S. Open semifinal matchup against new No. 1 Elena Rybakina. Gauff overcame a horrible start to give herself a chance at a second U.S. Open title. She won the tournament in 2023, when she had to overcome a similar rough beginning against Aryna Sabalenka in the final. Andreeva, the French Open champion, won the first seven points and took the first set in 26 minutes. Rybakina edged Zheng Qinwen 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, guaranteeing she will become No. 1 in the WTA rankings.
