Elena Rybakina won the US Open women’s singles title by defeating Aryna Sabalenka in three sets, securing her third career Grand Slam victory. The championship match concluded after a hard-fought battle at Flushing Meadows, shifting the top spot in women’s tennis.
Elena Rybakina Claims Third Grand Slam and World Number One Spot at US Open
Elena Rybakina captured the US Open championship after a gruelling battle against Aryna Sabalenka. The triumph guarantees that Rybakina assumes the position of world number one, dethroning her opponent in the rankings.
The Kazakh tennis player Elena Rybakina (27 years old), who will be the new WTA leader on Monday, achieved a fabulous victory in the US Open final against Aryna Sabalenka (28 years old). The curtain fell on the women’s draw of this year’s US Open, and Elena Rybakina defeated Aryna Sabalenka in the deciding set, 6-3, 5-7, 6-2.
The match lasted two hours and 15 minutes after she completely controlled the first set, which she won after a break at 2-2. Rybakina missed no less than 3 break points at 1-1 and another when the score was 4-2 in her favor. She concluded the match in the style of a great champion, with an ace.
The championship match finished with a score of 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 in the decisive set, handing Rybakina her second major title of the year following her victory earlier against the same opponent at the Australian Open. The concluding shot of the match came via an ace, sealing her status as a major champion at Flushing Meadows.
Record Stakes, Financial Payouts, and Historical Parallels
The victory brings her a check of 5,500,000 dollars, while Sabalenka received 2.8 million dollars. For Rybakina (27 years old), this is her third Grand Slam title of her career, after that at Wimbledon in 2022 and at the Australian Open this year, also after a final against Sabalenka. Sabalenka missed the chance to win her third consecutive trophy at Flushing Meadows after those in 2024 and 2025.
For her championship run, Rybakina received a cash prize of 5,500,000 dollars, while Sabalenka collected 2.8 million dollars as the runner-up. The final marked the third time the two athletes met in a Grand Slam title match, bringing their overall head-to-head encounters to 18, with Sabalenka holding 10 victories to Rybakina’s total. The two players met for the third time in a Grand Slam final, Sabalenka having the advantage in head-to-head matches, 10-8, and the Belarusian player reached five Grand Slam finals, losing again out of nine played, notes Agerpres.
At 27 years and 89 days, the Kazakh player becomes one of the most experienced athletes who have managed to reach the top position for the first time. In this regard, only Angelique Kerber was older when she became WTA leader: 28 years and 238 days.
Chasing History and Navigating Tough Draws at Flushing Meadows
At the time of the match, Sabalenka tried to become the first player with three consecutive US Open titles, after Serena Williams (2012-2014). On the other side, Rybakina aimed for her second major title in 2026, after defeating Sabalenka at the Australian Open in the decisive set. Rybakina reached her first US Open final and her fourth major title of her career.
Prior to the final, Sabalenka sought to capture her third consecutive US Open trophy following successive titles from previous seasons, a feat last accomplished by Serena Williams between 2012 and 2014. Since 1988, Sabalenka is the fifth player to reach a Grand Slam final from the world number one position, after Steffi Graf, Serena Williams, Monica Seles and Martina Hingis. The Belarusian player remains officially the world number one until the ranking update on Monday, when she will be dethroned by her opponent from the final at Flushing Meadows.
Sabalenka became the first player, male or female, in the Open Era to reach eight consecutive Grand Slam finals on hard courts. She thus surpassed the record of 7 appearances by Steffi Graf (1987-1990), Martina Hingis (1997-2000) and Novak Djokovic (2010-2013). On the other hand, the Kazakh player is the fifth athlete in the last two decades to reach the finals of the Australian Open and US Open in the same season, joining Justine Henin (2006), Victoria Azarenka (2012-2013), Angelique Kerber (2016) and Sabalenka (2023-2026).
To reach the final round, both competitors navigated demanding semifinal fixtures. It is the first time since 2013 that the top two favorites of the competition meet in the US Open final, a year when Serena Williams defeated the Belarusian Victoria Azarenka 7-5, 6-7 (6), 6-1. The top four favorites have not reached the semifinals for almost five decades, after 1975, when it was Chris Evert, Virginia Wade, Martina Navratilova and Evonne Goolagong. Sabalenka beat Jessica Pegula (USA, 3rd seed) 7-5, 6-2, and Rybakina beat Coco Gauff (USA, 4th seed) 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.
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