NEW YORK, September 17, 2026 – The Arthur Ashe Stadium has certainly been home to a lot of drama, but the 2026 US Open final was different; it brought about an upheaval in women’s tennis.
Elena Rybakina beat Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 in a match that lasted 2 hours and 21 minutes on Saturday, taking her maiden US Open crown and pulling off a historic double in New York. While she had already wrested the top spot from Sabalenka, which she held for 99 weeks, Rybakina thwarted her attempt to retain the title she won two years in a row.
This is not exactly what happened in the 72 hours; however, it certainly is what took place throughout the last couple of days of the tournament.
A final that swung hard
Sabalenka’s hopes of claiming her third consecutive win were not small. She had been successful in 20 consecutive games at the US Open, making it to her fourth consecutive final game. On the other hand, Rybakina had just survived a gruelling semifinal game with Coco Gauff after coming back to win 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.
It was another match in this series between these two tennis players: power, intensity and virtually no respite.
Rybakina took the first set 6-4, but then Sabalenka took the second 7-5. It seemed that she managed to turn the tide on her side. But then, Rybakina broke Sabalenka for 2-1 and held on tight to take the match.
The Russian broke for 5-2 and closed the match by serving for her 12th ace. With this win, she was able to claim her third Grand Slam title in her career, having won the Australian Open earlier in this year. With this win, Rybakina became the third player since 2000 to win both the Australian and US Open titles in the same year, after Angelique Kerber and Sabalenka.
From injury concern to champion
This was all the more impressive considering how her involvement in New York didn’t seem certain just a few weeks back.
Rybakina retired during her quarterfinal match against Iga Swiatek at Cincinnati on Aug. 20 due to an ankle injury in her left leg. She later clarified that she had been experiencing the injury for some time, requiring medical attention. Crucially, it wasn’t an Achilles injury, as was suggested in some initial reports.
In New York, she made her way to the final without losing a single set before the quarterfinal round and then fought back against Zheng Qinwen and Gauff to make it to the final.
“I’ve been dealing a little bit with injury, but somehow everything aligned on my side,” Rybakina said during the trophy presentation. She added that winning in New York felt especially meaningful after years of unsuccessful attempts.
Sabalenka’s next challenge
As for Sabalenka, her loss ended an impressive run in New York, and she is left without winning the Grand Slam title in 2026, marking the first time since 2022 when this season was hers to win.
Nonetheless, her reaction after the match was not that of a defeat. On the contrary, Sabalenka believed she could learn something from the event and come back improved, despite the loss of both the ranking and the tournament to the same player.
Now, Rybakina is only one Roland Garros title away from winning a career Grand Slam. In any case, at this point in time, New York is hers, as is the rivalry between the best players of the WTA Tour.
