Elena Rybakina had already ended Aryna Sabalenka’s 99-week hold on the No. 1 ranking. In Saturday’s US Open final, she denied the two-time defending champion a third straight title, too
With a 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 victory in 2 hours and 21 minutes on Arthur Ashe Stadium, Rybakina — who also beat Sabalenka in the Australian Open final in January — bookended her Grand Slam season with her third Major title. Rybakina now sits one Roland Garros trophy away from completing the Career Slam.
“It’s tough to find the words right now,” Rybakina said during the trophy presentation. “Honestly, I didn’t expect [anything] like this coming from this tournament.
“I’ve been dealing a little bit with injury, but somehow everything aligned on my side… I was coming here for the last 10 years, and it was never successful. Nothing close to that, and it’s just incredible. I’m falling in love with New York more and more.”
After a season-long race, the world’s top players converge in the California desert with the WTA’s biggest title still to be won.
Rybakina is the third player since 2000 to win the Australian Open and US Open in the same season, joining Angelique Kerber (2016) and Sabalenka (2024). It’s her third title of 2026 and the 14th of her career.
She improves to 8-10 against Sabalenka on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz. Her past three wins in the rivalry have all come on the biggest stages: the WTA Finals championship match last fall, the Australian Open final in January and Saturday’s US Open final.
Rybakina’s latest win came in convincing fashion despite Sabalenka pushing her to three sets. She broke early for 3-2 — and despite landing just 27% of her first serves — her ball striking was more than solid enough to make up the difference as she claimed the opening set.
In the second, she posted a much-improved first-serve percentage (61%) but failed to capitalize on a pair of break points. That came back to haunt her. While she saved two set points on serve to hold for 5-5, Sabalenka broke two games later to steal the set and force a decider.
There was no denying the new name at the top of the women’s game in the end, as Rybakina put it all together to break for 2-1 in the third. She came up with a volley winner to break again for 5-2, and a few points later, she sealed her championship-winning performance with her 12th ace — a fitting finish, mirroring how she converted match point at the Australian Open eight months ago.
“It’s going to be very different to wake up [tomorrow] morning knowing that I just won the US Open and achieved the No. 1 ranking,” Rybakina said in her post-match press conference. “It’s kind of a relief because you do all the routines for the past two, three weeks. It’s a lot of work. A lot of nerves, also.
“I feel that it’s going to be amazing to wake up knowing I achieved such big things.”
Rybakina overcomes injury, trail of Major champs to claim US Open crown
To add context to what was already an impressive title run, Rybakina entered the tournament with the aforementioned injury concerns after retiring from her Cincinnati quarterfinal against Iga Swiatek.
But she returned without missing a beat. She defeated No. 13 seed Naomi Osaka in the fourth round and reached the quarterfinals without dropping a set. She then came from a set down in back-to-back matches to beat an in-form Zheng Qinwen and No. 4 seed Coco Gauff en route to the final.
In defeating Sabalenka to capture the title, Rybakina became the first player to beat the defending women’s singles champion in the US Open final since Serena Williams in 2002 — and the first at any Grand Slam since Madison Keys
at the 2025 Australian Open.
She is also the first player to defeat the World No. 1 in the US Open final since Williams, who beat Victoria Azarenka in 2012.
Sabalenka ready to ‘come back stronger’ and ‘win some more tournaments’
It wasn’t the end to the Grand Slam season Sabalenka hoped for, as she failed to win a Major for the first time since 2022. She also fell a week shy of becoming the sixth woman to hold the No. 1 ranking for 100 consecutive weeks.
That frustration was evident after the match, but in choosing to “let it go” on the court, Sabalenka was able to look past Saturday’s outcome and examine the week in a more positive light.
“Overall, I should be happy with the level I played, and there are lots of things to take from this tournament,” Sabalenka said in her post-match press conference. “As experience shows, I only come back stronger, and all of these lessons this season already made me stronger. But it’s definitely going to motivate me to for next year to do a better job.
“When you go out there, you have a target on your back. It doesn’t matter if you’re No. 1, 2, 3, 4, whatever it is. I’ll just keep working hard and improving my tennis and my level. Hopefully I will win some more tournaments.”
WTA
