Elena Rybakina defeated Coco Gauff with a score of 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 on Thursday night. This victory secures Rybakina a spot in the US Open final, where she will face Aryna Sabalenka. Both players are currently among the top competitors in women’s tennis.
2-seeded Rybakina won the Australian Open to start the year and capitalized on Sabalenka’s poor results in the summer to continue closing in the race for No. 1. She needed only to reach the semifinals in New York to unseat Sabalenka, who has held the top spot for 99 consecutive weeks. Gauff won her first major title as a teenager when she rallied past Sabalenka in the 2023 US Open final, but nobody has been able to knock off the Belarussian in Flushing Meadows since. Pegula put up a good fight in the 2024 final and last year’s semifinals, but she couldn’t keep it close the way Sabalenka played Thursday – and wasn’t sure anybody else would’ve, either. Sabalenka pounded 29 winners to Pegula’s 12. She has won 19 straight matches at the US Open since losing to Gauff in the 2023 final. The top four seeds made it to the women’s semifinals at the US Open for the first time since 1975.
Sabalenka, Rybakina and Gauff have all won multiple major titles, while Pegula is still looking for her first. The No. Rybakina is already guaranteed to replace Sabalenka atop the rankings next week and on Saturday will attempt to take the trophy that Sabalenka has won the last two years. Rybakina beat Sabalenka in Australia and will be seeking her third Grand Slam title on Saturday.
Sabalenka and Rybakina Advance to Finals
Aryna Sabalenka secured her spot in the finals by defeating Jessica Pegula with a score of 7-5, 6-2 in the first semifinal. Sabalenka dominated the second set after a closely contested first set. “No complaints,” she remarked. “I’m just super happy that I was able to pull out such tennis.”
In the second semifinal, Elena Rybakina faced Coco Gauff in a more challenging match. Gauff fought hard to come back in the final two sets, but Rybakina maintained her lead, preventing Gauff from making a full recovery.
Sabalenka needs a victory to become the first player to win three in a row in Flushing Meadows since Serena Williams from 2012-14.
