All four top seeds reach US Open women's semifinals, first time since 1975

For the first time since 1975, the top four seeds in the women's US Open singles draw have advanced to the semifinals. Aryna Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina, Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff will contest the final four, a convergence that has not occurred at this tournament in 51 years, per BBC Sport. The semifinal matchups set for September 12 pit Sabalenka against Pegula in the first match at 00:00 BST on September 13, followed by Rybakina facing Gauff. Since the start of 2020, there have been 13 different Grand Slam women's singles champions, compared to just seven on the men's side, according to BBC Sport. This semifinal lineup suggests a tightening at the top. The last time the top four ranked players reached the women's semifinals at any Grand Slam was Wimbledon in 2009, per BBC Sport. Sabalenka enters as the two-time defending US Open champion and is bidding to become the first woman since Serena Williams in 2014 to win three successive US Open titles, according to BBC Sport. She holds a 13-match head-to-head record against Pegula, with Pegula winning four of those encounters. Sabalenka defeated Pegula in the 2024 US Open final and in last year's semifinals, per BBC Sport, though Sabalenka fell to Pegula at June's Berlin Open in her first semifinal before this tournament. Pegula, the only remaining player in the women's draw chasing a maiden Grand Slam, reached the finals in both Washington and Cincinnati before arriving in New York, per BBC Sport. Rybakina, the Australian Open champion, will replace Sabalenka as world number one on Monday, ending Sabalenka's 99-week reign at number one when Rybakina reaches the semifinal, according to BBC Sport. Gauff, 22 years old, won the US Open title in 2023 but suffered fourth-round exits in the following two years, per BBC Sport. Gauff leads the head-to-head with Rybakina 2-1, and Rybakina fought back from a set down to defeat Gauff in last month's Canadian Open semifinals, according to BBC Sport. The Bottom Line: The concentration of seeded dominance at this stage will either continue through the final if both higher seeds hold serve, or unravel entirely in the next round. Sabalenka's pursuit of a third consecutive US Open title remains the clearest path to stability at the top of women's tennis; any upset in Thursday's semifinal sets a different tone for where the rankings and the sport's hierarchy settle into the autumn.