By Shara Talia Taylor
Elena Rybakina of Russia upset Belarusian, Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 to win the 2026 US Open Women’s Singles Tennis Championship Saturday at the Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens and claim the No. 1 ranking in women’s tennis in the world.
It was the third Grand Slam title of her career and second for 2026 after defeating Sabalenka in January to win the Australian Open women’s singles competition. Rybakina lost the second set Saturday, but she then encouraged herself and also improved her serve over the course of the match which helped her bounce back in the third set.
“The third set, I told myself that I can still do it,” she said after the victory about putting herself in a position to dominate. “I need to focus on my serve and just risk a little bit more when I have the chance.”
Rybakina served three aces in the first set, four in the second and five in the third. Sabalenka served three aces in the first set, one in the second and two in the third.
TOURNAMENT RECAP
Rybakina reached the finals after beating Thea Frodin, Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, Yuliia Starodubtseva, Naomi Osaka, Qinwen Zheng and Coco Gauff. Gauff acknowledged the impact of Rybakina’s serve following her 6-3, 4-6, 4-6 win.
“I thought it was a good match, and it honestly came down to a couple of service games of mine in both sets and I didn’t quite hold,” Gauff said. “She does a great job of just being there every point and putting a lot of pressure on you on service game and return game.”
FINAL MATCH
Rybakina had a good start in the first set. She dominated even with making only 27% of her first serves in, and Sabalenka making 60%. Rybakina fell behind in the second set as Sabalenka was more strategic, hitting to unreachable back corners. The first time Rybakina approached the net Sabalenka hit over her head. Rybakina said she had a plan in her head. Her final shot of the match was a swift ace to the left corner of the service box that too far right for Sabalenka to respond.
“I’m obviously not really happy with the level I played today, but she served incredible,” Sabalenka said following the match. “She played really aggressive, great tennis. Yeah, she was simply a better player today than me.”
Sabalenka vowed to come back stronger. Rybakina said her goal is to be healthy and choose the calendar correctly, focusing on the biggest tournaments and staying balanced.
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