Elena Rybakina came from a set down to beat Coco Gauff 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 on Thursday night in Arthur Ashe Stadium, setting up a US Open women's final against two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka on Saturday, Sept. 12. Rybakina told ESPN she refocused after dropping the opening set and told herself to keep fighting.
Sabalenka reached the final earlier Thursday by beating No. 3 seed Jessica Pegula 7-5, 6-2. She hit 29 winners to Pegula's 12, NBC Sports reported. The result extended Sabalenka's winning streak at Flushing Meadows to 19 matches and put her one win from a third consecutive US Open title. A title would make her the first woman to win three straight US Open titles since Serena Williams in 2012-14, NBC Sports reported.
The final pairs the top two players in the world, and the ranking has already changed hands. By reaching the semifinals, Rybakina clinched the WTA No. 1 ranking, which she takes over from Sabalenka next week after Sabalenka held it for 99 consecutive weeks. The WTA noted that all top four seeds reached the semifinals — only the second time that has happened at the US Open in the Open Era.
Rybakina beat Sabalenka in this year's Australian Open final, which gave Rybakina the second of her two Grand Slam titles after Wimbledon 2022. A win Saturday would be her third major. Gauff, the 2023 champion, and Pegula were the last two American women in the draw, so the final will have no American in it, CBS Sports reported.
The men's side still has an American guarantee. Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe meet in Friday's semifinal after Shelton beat defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in a match that ended at 3:33 a.m. and Tiafoe outlasted Alex Michelsen in five sets. Earlier in the women's draw, Zheng Qinwen knocked out Iga Swiatek in the fourth round.
Source: ESPN, Yahoo Sports, CBS Sports, NBC Sports, and WTA.
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