Top Seeds Rybakina, Sabalenka Reach US Open Final

Elena Rybakina will become world No. 1 and will face Aryna Sabalenka in the US Open final after the tournament’s top two seeds won their semifinals.

Rybakina, the second seed, produced a gritty comeback to beat fourth-seeded American Coco Gauff 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 and silence the partisan crowd. She is guaranteed to end Sabalenka’s 99-week reign as world No. 1 and replace the Belarusian at the top when the rankings are updated Monday.

The Kazakh also can deny Sabalenka a third successive US Open title in Saturday’s final.

Sabalenka, the top seed, sent a warning to her rivals by overpowering American Jessica Pegula 7-5, 6-2 to keep alive her bid to become the third woman in the Open era to win the New York singles title three times in a row.

Rybakina will stand in her way. After her victory over Gauff, she said: “I took a deep breath and just told myself I needed to fight and show good tennis.”

The 27-year-old is chasing her third Grand Slam title after winning Wimbledon in 2022 and beating Sabalenka in January’s Australian Open final.

It will be the first time the top two women’s seeds have contested a US Open final since Serena Williams beat Victoria Azarenka in the 2013 showpiece.

Sabalenka has not been beaten in New York since losing the 2023 final to Gauff, but there were doubts over her title defense following a poor run-up to the tournament.

After a strong start to the season and winning the “Sunshine Double” at Indian Wells and Miami in March, Sabalenka suffered a quarterfinal defeat at Roland Garros and a fourth-round exit at Wimbledon.

She has found her form again, however, dropping just one set en route to the final.

“I was super desperate,” Sabalenka said after beating Pegula. “It feels for me, talking about Grand Slams, like a last push of the season. I wanted it badly to go to the finals, and of course, I want to go all the way.”

In a tense opening set, Sabalenka bristled with frustration early as unforced errors crept into her game while Pegula settled quickly and struck the ball cleanly. Eventually, the four-time major singles winner found her rhythm, and after striking decisively at 6-5 to take the first set, she cranked up the power.

Pegula looked helpless as Sabalenka raced through the second set, with the Belarusian pounding 29 winners to Pegula’s 12.

The victory meant Sabalenka became the first player, male or female, to reach eight successive hard-court Grand Slam finals, breaking the Open era record, with the 28-year-old reaching every major final on her favored surface since the 2023 Australian Open.

For 32-year-old Pegula — the only semifinalist without a Grand Slam title — it was yet another US Open defeat by longtime rival Sabalenka. Sabalenka denied the third seed a maiden major in the 2024 final, while she also got the better of her in last year’s semifinals, although Pegula had won their most recent meeting at June’s Berlin Open.

“I do think she probably would have beaten 99% of people,” Pegula said. “Probably the best match she’s played this year.”

Rybakina’s ascent to the top of the world rankings is already assured, but she has made clear that while being No. 1 carries prestige, winning titles is what she cares about most.

“It’s just a number right now, my goal is to win the tournaments which I play,” the 27-year-old said before her semifinal.

Her three-set victory over Gauff showed her resilience and ability to absorb a setback — coming from a set down and then being broken when serving for the match — before striking back. For much of the match, however, she was well short of her destructive best.

“I definitely need to step my game up [in the final], serve better than today, stay aggressive and really go for my shots,” the two-time major winner added.

The prospect of a final between the top two seeds is notable on its own, but the outgoing No. 1 taking on her successor makes it more significant.

Sabalenka holds the edge in the head-to-head with 10 wins in 17 meetings, including beating Rybakina in the semifinals in Miami and the final at Indian Wells this year. Rybakina came out on top when they met in January’s Australian Open final.

Sabalenka led 3-0 in the deciding set in Melbourne but eventually fell to a third defeat in her past four Grand Slam finals. Rybakina’s only loss in three previous major finals was to Sabalenka in Australia in 2023.