Rybakina defeats Gauff 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 to clinch No. 1 ranking, will face Sabalenka in US Open final
Elena Rybakina defeated Coco Gauff 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 in Friday's US Open semifinal to clinch the WTA No. 1 ranking effective Monday. Rybakina, 27, the 2022 Wimbledon champion, will face defending US Open champion Aryna Sabalenka on Sunday. Sabalenka, 28, a four-time Grand Slam champion, defeated Jessica Pegula 7-5, 6-2 in the first semifinal. Sabalenka holds a 10-7 head-to-head advantage over Rybakina and can become only the third woman to win three consecutive US Opens.
Elena Rybakina will take the WTA No. 1 ranking effective Monday after defeating Coco Gauff 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 in Friday's US Open semifinal. Rybakina, 27, a two-time major champion and the 2022 Wimbledon champion, advances to Sunday's final against defending champion Aryna Sabalenka, 28, a four-time Grand Slam champion. This is the pair's third Grand Slam final meeting. Rybakina needed only to reach the semifinals in New York to clinch the top ranking, according to ESPN. Sabalenka held the No. 1 spot for 99 consecutive weeks before Rybakina's ascent. Gauff, 20, won the first set in 38 minutes with four aces to Rybakina's one, per ESPN. Gauff trailed 4-1 in the second set and battled back to 4-all before Rybakina won the next two games. Rybakina went ahead 5-3 in the second set and served for the match, but Gauff broke to give herself one more chance, according to ESPN. Rybakina leads the WTA Tour in aces, per ESPN. Rybakina turned her ankle during the Cincinnati quarter-finals three weeks prior, according to BBC Sport. She was unable to walk for several days after the injury. Rybakina cruised through her opening four matches at the 2026 US Open and defeated Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen to reach the semifinal, per BBC Sport. Gauff won the 2023 US Open final, rallying past Sabalenka, according to ESPN. In the first semifinal, Sabalenka defeated third-seeded Jessica Pegula 7-5, 6-2, per ESPN. It was already 4-all in 25 minutes. Pegula had won 18 of 20 points on her first serve when serving with Sabalenka leading 6-5 in the first set, according to ESPN. Sabalenka pounced on a 77 mph second serve from Pegula and hammered a forehand back at 90 mph for a 3-1 lead in the second set, per ESPN. Sabalenka pounded 29 winners to Pegula's 12 and won 14 of 19 points on Pegula's second serve, according to ESPN. Pegula is still looking for her first major title, per ESPN. This is the second time since hard courts arrived at the Australian Open in 1988 that the same two female players have met in the final of the Australian Open and US Open, the two hard-court Grand Slams, per the Guardian. The other pairing was Steffi Graf and Arantza Sánchez Vicario in 1994. Rybakina and Sabalenka have met 17 times before, with Sabalenka holding a 10-7 head-to-head advantage, per the Guardian. Rybakina beat Sabalenka to win the 2026 Australian Open 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 from 3-1 down in the third set, per BBC Sport. Sabalenka has beaten Rybakina at Indian Wells and Miami since the Australian Open, per the Guardian. Sabalenka won 19 straight matches at the US Open since losing to Gauff in the 2023 final, per ESPN. Nobody has knocked off Sabalenka at Flushing Meadows since Gauff beat her in the 2023 final, according to ESPN. Sabalenka acknowledged losing the No. 1 ranking was unavoidable due to her poor middle-season performance: "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," per ESPN. She added: "Talking about Grand Slams, it feels like a last push of the season. The mentality is just 'I'm ready'. I'm ready for whatever it's going to take to get the win," per BBC Sport. BBC Sport reports that Sabalenka held a commanding set and a double break lead against 25th seed Diana Shnaider in the French Open quarter-finals before losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-0. BBC Sport also reports that Sabalenka blew six match points against Hailey Baptiste in Madrid and let slip a first-set lead over Sorana Cirstea in Rome. At Cincinnati, BBC Sport reports Sabalenka lost in straight sets to 20-year-old Czech opponent Sara Bejlek despite holding clear advantages. Rybakina said: "Took a deep breath, was trying to talk positive with myself and just told myself that I need to fight and try to show good tennis," per ESPN. Gauff said: "I thought it was a good match, and it honestly came down to a couple of service games of mine in both sets, and I didn't quite hold," per ESPN. She added: "I mean, I have to look back and see what happened, but she does a great job of just being there every point and putting a lot of pressure on you on service game and return game," per ESPN. Pegula said of Sabalenka's semifinal performance: "I think that's definitely -- you can ask her -- probably the best match she's played this year. I mean, I thought her level was insanely high," per ESPN.