(September 8, 2026) FLUSHING MEADOWS, NY – Two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka rallied from 2-4 down in the deciding set to beat Wimbledon winner Linda Noskova 7-6 (1), 3-6, 7-6 (10-7) in the quarterfinals of the US Open on Tuesday afternoon.
She will play the winner of the Jessica Pegula-Emma Navarro match in the semifinals.
The No. 1 seed started off strong in the first set, taking a 4-1 lead, but the No. seed 6 fought back to level the set and force a tiebreak. Sabalenka was too powerful for Noskova and dropped only one point in the tiebreak.
Noskova rebounded in the second set, winning 6-3 to level the match.
In the third set, Noskova broke serve in the sixth game to go up 4-2, but the two-time defending champion broke back at love to erase the advantage.
Both women held on to their serves to get to the 10-point tiebreak, which Sabalenka won 10-7 on an ace, to extend her winning streak at the US Open to 18 and reach her sixth straight US Open semifinal. The two-hour-and-22-minute match keeps the Belarusian on course to get a “threepeat” at the US Open, last accomplished by Serena Williams in 2014-2016.
“I’m happy I finished the match obviously with second-serve ace,” said the winner. “I couldn’t be happier. Yeah, it was really tough, tight battle. I’m just super happy that I really stayed aggressive throughout the whole match, and I really trusted my shots.”
Noskova talked about the loss: “Well, I could have done a lot of things differently. You know, being a break up in the third set, it’s not very easy. Also having a little break at the start of the tiebreak in the third one, as well, it’s frustrating, obviously, but at the same time, I definitely could have done different decisions at those crucial moments.
“But at the same time, Aryna, she played the best tennis that she could in those moments, which didn’t really make it easy for me.”
“That was a battle,” said Sabalenka in her news conference. “That was a real fight. I’m super happy with the way I handled myself, and also, of course, to get the win. It was really a tough match.”
“I just felt at some point in the third set she was definitely serving better than me and putting so much pressure on me, but I’m glad that I kind of, like, threw that thought away and I was able to focus point by point and, like, literally just trying to build something bigger in that moment.
“I got, not lucky, but I’m happy the way I broke her serve at 3-4. I think I really played great intensity level of tennis, and that really gave me so much confidence that I still can get the win in this match.”
“I feel like especially after these matches when you’re so close to getting to another semifinal of a Grand Slam in one year or, you know, beating the best player in the world, it kind of reminds you of where you are standing or what position you’re in,” Noskova said.
“So, yeah, I have to take some positives from this whole tournament. It was not easy coming here from such a success I had on grass court.
“I will just try to keep going, you know. I feel great on court, which is always my main point, and ranking doesn’t really matter. But it gets me to some cool places.”
“I’m just super happy that I put myself in the position where I have chance to go for three-peat, even though I’m still far away from that,” said the four-time major winner. What I learned from Australia is it’s really important to shut down all of the noises and having that on the back of your mind. It’s nothing wrong about that, just as long as you’re focusing on yourself, as long as you’re ready to fight, basically.”
On her potential next opponent”: “Jessica (Pegula) really challenging player to play against. I can say that she really improved a lot in last couple of years, improved her game, really putting me under so much pressure.
“But I’m loving playing against her, because it’s a battle, because it’s a fight, and I love being under pressure and going through tough challenges. So playing against her, it’s going to be really high-intensity level of tennis. I’m super excited if it’s gonna be her.”
On potentially playing Emma Navarro: “It’s been a while since we played against each other, but she’s great, playing really smart tennis, and also with the variety of her shots. It’s been really tough to play against her in the last matches that I face her, because every point, you have to work really hard to get the point. So physically, it’s not easy match to handle, but as I said before, I’m ready for it.”
More to follow….
