Elena Rybakina will enter the US Open semifinals as the new world number one after overcoming Zheng Qinwen in three sets on Wednesday. Rybakina, 27, recovered from a slow start to defeat the reigning Olympic champion 3-6, 6-1, 6-4.
The victory has set up a semifinal meeting with two-time major winner Coco Gauff.
The Kazakh had already secured the top ranking by reaching the last four, ending Aryna Sabalenka’s run at number one regardless of whether Sabalenka goes on to claim a third consecutive US Open title.
“It’s just a number right now,” Rybakina said. “It’s a different achievement … but mostly you think about the titles in the end of the day.”
The result makes Rybakina the first player from Kazakhstan, male or female, to reach number one and
the 30th woman to occupy the top spot.
She is also chasing her third Grand Slam crown. Rybakina won the Australian Open in January, adding to the Wimbledon title she captured four years earlier.
“I feel like you will appreciate and think about it even more when you finish your career,” she said of the ranking. “Like now, you still need to keep on going.”
Gauff reached the semifinals after a dramatic comeback against 19-year-old Russian Mirra Andreeva, winning 2-6, 7-6 (9/7), 6-2 after saving two match points.
The 2023 US Open champion will now face Rybakina with a place in the final at stake.
“Elena is the new world number one,” Gauff said. “It’s going to be a tough match. These are the moments you live for.”
Gauff found herself under pressure early but turned the match around in the second-set tie-break. She said Frances Tiafoe’s comeback victory over fellow American Alex Michelsen had helped inspire her.
“I just had to reset,” Gauff said. “Honestly, I was thinking about Frances Tiafoe and how he came back. I was just trying to leave the court without regrets.”
For Zheng, the defeat ended a remarkable return to the tournament. The 23-year-old, who had fallen to 121 in the rankings after missing roughly eight months following elbow surgery, came through qualifying and won seven matches in New York.
Her run included comeback victories against six-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek and former Australian Open champion Madison Keys.
Zheng, who lost the 2024 Australian Open final in her only previous Grand Slam final appearance, was unable to reach the US Open semifinals for the first time.
“I got lot of chances in the third set, but I didn’t took it,” Zheng said. “That was a bit pity for me to lose this match, but obviously I could take positive things from US Open this year.”
On the men’s side, top seed Alexander Zverev was looking to book his place in the semifinals when he took on Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp.
Zverev, who won his first Grand Slam at the French Open this year, was bidding for a third US Open semifinal and his first since 2021.
Van de Zandschulp’s ranking of 70 offered little indication of the threat he posed. The Dutchman famously beat Carlos Alcaraz in the second round two years ago before knocking sixth-seeded Australian Alex de Minaur out in the same round last week.
He reached the quarterfinals after beating Frenchman Arthur Gea in five sets, having saved a match point along the way.
The winner of Zverev’s quarterfinal will meet Karen Khachanov, who advanced to the last four after Alexander Blockx retired while trailing 6-2, 7-5, 3-2.
Khachanov said it was clear the 21-year-old Belgian was struggling physically.
“I saw really that he was suffering all over his body,” Khachanov said of 21-year-old Blockx, who had already been close to retiring during his fourth-round victory over Francisco Cerundolo because of a rib injury.
Blockx played Wednesday’s quarterfinal with one thigh strapped and required medical timeouts for treatment to his foot and lower-back pain.
“I think I finally understand how physical the slams are,” Blockx said. “It’s totally different from the usual ATP tournaments where it’s best-of-three.”
With AFP Inputs
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