The world No. 2 Elena Rybakina defeated Coco Gauff in the US Open semifinal to secure a spot in Saturday’s final at the Flushing Meadows.
After Rybakina beat Gauff in the semifinal, top-seeded Belarusian star Aryna Sabalenka faces a daunting task in her bid for a third straight title.
If Sabalenka is able to do so, it would be the first time since Serena Williams (2012-2014) that a player has won three straight US Open titles.
“She (Sabalenka) very aggressive player, it’s difficult to play with her mentally, physically because she has a big game, a big serve,” said Rybakina in a post match press conference.
“I will need to come with all the energy I will have, bring my best serve against Aryna, and make the right decisions in the right moment,” she added.
Rybakina won a hard-fought, three-set match against Coco Gauff 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 to book a matchup with Aryna Sabalenka.
On the other hand, Sabalenka, the two time defending champion is coming into the US Open final after defeating Jessica Pegula 7-5, 6-2, winning the second set decisively after both the players competed on roughly equal terms in the first set.
The US Open final on Saturday, September 12, is a showdown between top-seeded Sabalenka and World No. 2 Rybakina.
But when the new WTA rankings are out on Monday, September 14, the landscape shifts for Sabalenka, who has held the top spot for 99 consecutive weeks.
A fact that Sabalenka also realises, saying, “It’s a lot of work, and yeah, that was one of my goals, but right now, not much I could do. I didn’t really perform well in the middle of the season.”
“Elena took it over and played really well, and she took away No. 1 position,” she added.
Rybakina had beaten Sabalenka at the start of the season’s opening Grand Slam in the Australian Open final.
2026-09-11 12:08:00
