Elena Rybakina beat Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 to lift her maiden US Open Championship at Arthur Ashe Stadium. It was also the third Grand Slam title of her career. However, the road towards the final wasn’t a simple one. Her participation in the US Open was in doubt after an ankle injury during the Cincinnati Open quarter-finals. She was unable to walk for several days, but despite those concerns, she made it to New York and progressed through her first four matches without dropping a set.
Meanwhile, the Kazakh entered the final knowing that she would become the new world number one regardless of the outcome. She replaced Sabalenka at the top of the rankings after completing a tournament in which she overcame both physical concerns and difficult matches.
Her toughest tests came when Rybakina recovered from losing the opening set against Zheng Qinwen and then did the same against Coco Gauff. The final against Sabalenka followed a similar pattern of momentum shifts. Rybakina took the first set despite not finding her best level on serve as she used her returns to put pressure on Sabalenka.
Rybakina dominates third set
The Belarusian responded in the second by raising the quality of her groundstrokes and breaking Rybakina when serving for the set in the 12th game. The soon-to-be crowned world number one then regained control in the deciding set. Her deep returns repeatedly forced Sabalenka behind the baseline and a break for 2-1 gave her the advantage she needed. The five-time Grand Slam winner struggled to maintain consistency as the match progressed.
Notably, Rybakina had to wait one extra point to complete the victory after double-faulting on her first championship point. She immediately recovered, producing an ace to seal the title. Now, the victory marks Rybakina's second major championship of 2026 after her Australian Open triumph. She won Wimbledon in 2022 and now needs only the French Open title to complete a career Grand Slam.
“I would put this moment right at the top. So many things have happened in the past couple of weeks. Becoming the number one ranked player and now lifting this US Open trophy. I have been coming to this tournament for so many years, and it was never a successful Grand Slam for me. Now things have changed, and it is just amazing. This one means a lot to me,” Rybakina said in an interview with JioStar.
For Sabalenka, the defeat ended her attempt to win the US Open for a third consecutive year. It was her fifth loss in nine Grand Slam finals.
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