Rybakina Rallies Past Gauff to Set Up Sabalenka in US Open Final

Elena Rybakina overturned Coco Gauff under the lights at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Thursday, winning 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 to reach her first US Open final less than 24 hours after clinching the No. 1 ranking for the first time.

Rybakina fights back to set Sabalenka final in New York

In a packed stadium that included former First Lady Michelle Obama, Gauff made the sharper start. The American secured the only break of the opening set and benefited from 18 unforced errors off Rybakina’s racket to take it 6-3.

Rybakina changed the rhythm in the second set, reducing her mistakes and breaking early for a 4-1 advantage. Gauff recovered the break and drew level at 4-4, but Rybakina found another return-game breakthrough in the 10th game to send the semifinal into a deciding set.

The Kazakh had two break chances slip away in the sixth game of the decider, then finally broke through for 5-3 two games later. Gauff refused to leave quietly, producing a superb backhand pass to create her first break point of the set and converting it to restore serve. Rybakina answered immediately, however, breaking once more to seal the match after two hours and eight minutes.

“It was extremely close,” Rybakina said. “I’m very happy and proud. I can’t really find many other words for it.”

The victory improved Rybakina’s career record against Gauff to 2-1 and extended her perfect 2026 mark against American opponents to 10-0. She is also the fifth woman in the last 20 years to contest both the Australian Open and US Open finals in the same season, following Justine Henin in 2006, Victoria Azarenka in 2012 and 2013, Angelique Kerber in 2016, and Aryna Sabalenka from 2023 through 2025.

Gauff said the match turned on a narrow number of service games. “She played very well,” she said. “In both of the last two sets, there were a couple of games where I did not hold, and that was the difference. She puts pressure on every point, whether she is serving or returning, and she held her level better than I did tonight.”

Saturday’s championship match will bring Rybakina up against two-time defending champion Sabalenka, who defeated No. 3 seed Jessica Pegula 7-5, 6-2 in the earlier semifinal. Sabalenka’s victory stretched her US Open winning run to 20 matches and put her into a fourth straight New York final.

It will be the 18th meeting between the two hard-court powers, with Sabalenka holding a 10-7 advantage. Their latest contest came in the Miami semifinals earlier this season, while Saturday will mark their third Grand Slam final against each other. They have already shared hard-court titles this year, with Rybakina lifting the Australian Open trophy and Sabalenka triumphing at Indian Wells.

The matchup also carries a rare place in the major-championship record book. Since 1988, this is only the second season in which the same two players have met in both the Australian Open and US Open finals. Steffi Graf and Arantxa Sanchez Vicario were the previous pair to do so, in 1994.

Rybakina expects another fine-margin contest against Sabalenka. “She is very aggressive, with a huge game and a big serve,” Rybakina said. “It is difficult physically and mentally. I need to bring all my energy, serve at my best and make the right choice at the right time, because our scores are usually very tight.”

She added that the final’s stakes will not alter her approach. “You want to win every final and give your best, whoever is on the other side,” Rybakina said. “But I do not want to put too much pressure on myself. We are very close in the rankings, and there are still tournaments left this year. Matches like these show you what you need to improve, and that is valuable.”