(September 12, 2026) FLUSHING MEADOWS, NY – Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina opened the major tournament season on the hard courts of the Australian Open, and they ended the major tournament season on the hard courts of the US Open, with Rybakina again taking the title 6-4, 5-7, 6-2. Rybakina holds two of the four major titles this year.
Sabalenka, 28, of Belarus was the No. 1 seed, but will relinquish her top spot to Rybakina on Monday.
The 27-year-old Kazakh stopped Sabalenka’s 19-match winning streak at the US Open with the victory.
This was the third US Open women’s singles final between World No.1 and World No.2 since 2000.
“Well, it’s going to be very different to wake up next morning knowing that you won just US Open, achieved No. 1 ranking, and it’s kind of relief, you know, because you do all the routines for the past two, three weeks. It’s a lot of work, a lot of nerves also,” Rybakina said to the media. “I feel that it’s going to be amazing to wake up knowing that you achieved such big things.”
“I always believed that it’s possible. We’ve been having great results. Of course, not every year is the same. I won Wimbledon in 2022. Then I wasn’t winning the slams, but I played final of Australian Open the next year. I think we were always there.
“Of course, on your path you learn a lot, a lot of things happening. I feel like now I have a great team, great people around me, and we just continue the work. It finally paid off, and I’m super happy, very proud.
“It’s never easy. Even now I finish here, I rest, I celebrate, and then still the tournaments are coming up. You still need to play. You still need to compete with the same players, and you still need to do your best.
“Yeah, it’s an amazing journey, and hopefully I can continue stay at the top as long as possible.”
For Sabalenka, this was her fourth straight US Open final: she lost to Coco Gauff in 2023, won the next two, and lost the current one to Rybakina.
Rybakina entered the tournament with a big question mark about her health after a foot injury that hampered her play early on. She injured herself during the Cincinnati Open.
“Well, it wasn’t the best time, for sure, because I was so upset,” said Rybakina. “I didn’t know actually how it’s going to be day by day. We arrive to New York. We did MRI. It didn’t look that great. We had to talk with a lot of doctors to get opinion what we should do.
“I was lucky enough to have very good doctor. She’s in Australia. She was on the phone with us all the time, and somehow with the team we made a plan, and we were sticking to it, every day discussing what we can do.
“Yeah, for seven days I was just going from my hotel room to the gym, three hours there spending, a lot of recovery, treatments. Yeah, couple dinners to also a little bit switch the mind.
“We went first day I think when we arrived to the cinema. Yeah, after that, I just continued to work, but unfortunately, not on the court.”
“I’m obviously not really happy with the level I played today, but she served incredible,” Sabalenka said in her media conference. “She played really aggressive, great tennis. Yeah, she was simply a better player today than me.”
“I think overall I should be happy with the level I played, and there’s lots of things to take from this tournament. I mean, as experience shows, that I only come back stronger and all of these lessons this season definitely already made me stronger, but definitely going to motivate me for the next year to do better job.”
“I think anyway when you go out there, you have target on your back. Doesn’t matter if you are No. 1, No. 2, 3, 4, whatever it is.
“I’ll just keep working hard and keep improving my tennis, my level. Hopefully I will win some more tournaments.”
“We have a great rivalry. We play a lot of great matches, great finals this season. Yeah, her serve is amazing, the way she able to step in and overpower you on court, and especially if it’s a US Open court where it’s super fast, definitely huge advantage for her.
“A lot of things makes her dangerous.”
“I feel like the match was so close,’ said Rybakina. “Even first set I got early break. Then it was kind of a little bit easier to step in, to be aggressive.
“Then in the second we were going both, like, each game. We were taking our serve. I feel like she just played in these same important moments more aggressive. Yeah, she just went for the shots.
“I had some little opportunities. Made couple of mistakes. But then in the third set, I told myself that I can still do it. I need to focus on my serve and just risk a little bit more when I have the chance.”
Sabalenka saved three break points while serving at 1-1, in the first set, then recovered to hold for 2-1 with an ace. In the fifth game, Rybakina broke through to take a 3-2 lead as Sabalenka double-faulted. Sabalenka launched a ball into the crowd and was given a ball abuse warning from the umpire. Sabalenka fought off a break point in the sixth game but held on for 3-4.
Sabalenka saved a set point in the tenth game, but the Kazakh held on to the game and captured the set 6-4, despite only serving at 28% first serves.
Sabalenka finally got her first break points in the tenth game of the second set, which were set points, but failed to capitalize on them, and Rybakina dug out of the hole to hold for 5-5. Sabalenka finally broke serve to take the second set and send the match to a decider.
Rybakina stepped up her serve and her play overall, breaking Sabalenka twice to claim the US Open trophy with an ace to win 6-4, 5-7, 6-2.
Rybakina earned $5.5 million dollars for her win, the largest prize in major tournament history.
“I honestly was coming here for last ten years, and it was never successful, and I’m starting to like New York more and more,” said Rybakina.
More to follow…
