Elena Rybakina Wins the 2026 US Open, Beating Sabalenka for Her Third Grand Slam Title

Update, Sept. 15, 2026 — Rybakina is champion. Elena Rybakina beat Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 in the 2026 US Open final, her first US Open title and third Grand Slam overall. The semifinal recap below is kept as a record of how she reached the final.

Elena Rybakina had eliminated Coco Gauff from the U.S. Open on Thursday, September 10, 2026, coming back from a set down to win 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the women’s semifinal at Arthur Ashe Stadium. The result sent Rybakina, the tournament’s No. 2 seed, into her first U.S. Open final, and had already secured her place as the incoming WTA No. 1 regardless of how that final went.

Key facts

Result: Rybakina beat Gauff 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the U.S. Open semifinal on Thursday, September 10, 2026, at Arthur Ashe Stadium
New No. 1: Rybakina becomes the world No. 1, effective Monday, September 14, 2026, when the WTA updates its rankings
First for Kazakhstan: She will be the first man or woman from Kazakhstan to hold the No. 1 ranking
Final: Rybakina faces top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka on Saturday, September 12, 2026, at 4:00 p.m. ET at Arthur Ashe Stadium

Rybakina’s road to No. 1

Rybakina had already locked up the WTA’s world No. 1 ranking before she ever stepped on court against Gauff. When it takes effect, Rybakina, who represents Kazakhstan, will be the first man or woman from that country ever to hold the world No. 1 ranking in tennis. She was born in Moscow, Russia, and switched her tennis allegiance to Kazakhstan in 2018.

Her quarterfinal win over Zheng Qinwen on September 9 secured enough ranking points to overtake Aryna Sabalenka mathematically. That means her new ranking does not depend on the outcome of Saturday’s final. It becomes official when the WTA updates its rankings on Monday, September 14, 2026. That ends a stretch atop the rankings for Sabalenka that had run since October 21, 2024.

Head-to-head with Gauff

It was the third career meeting between the two. Gauff won their first, at the 2022 Canadian Open in Toronto, and Rybakina won their second, this year’s Toronto semifinal. Thursday’s result put Rybakina ahead 2-1 in the series.

Gauff’s run ends in the semifinal

Gauff had fought hard to reach this stage. A day earlier, on September 9, she saved two match points to beat fifth-seeded Mirra Andreeva 2-6, 7-6(7), 6-2 in the quarterfinal, her first U.S. Open semifinal appearance since she won the title outright in 2023. That 2023 title remains one of two Grand Slam singles championships on her résumé; the other is the 2025 French Open, where she beat Sabalenka in the final. Thursday’s loss to Rybakina ends her bid for a third.

Sabalenka reaches the final too

In the tournament’s other semifinal, also played September 10, top-seeded Sabalenka beat No. 3 seed Jessica Pegula 7-5, 6-2 to reach the final. Sabalenka, 28, represents Belarus.

Saturday’s final

Rybakina and Sabalenka will meet in the U.S. Open women’s singles final on Saturday, September 12, 2026, at 4:00 p.m. ET at Arthur Ashe Stadium — a rematch of the Australian Open final on January 31, 2026, which Rybakina won 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 for her second career Grand Slam singles title, after Wimbledon in 2022. That January 2026 win avenged Sabalenka’s victory over Rybakina in their previous Australian Open final meeting, in 2023.

Saturday’s final gives Rybakina a chance to add a U.S. Open trophy to a season that has already reshaped the rankings, while Sabalenka goes for the title in the same week she is set to lose the No. 1 ranking after nearly two years at the top.