NEW YORK (AP) — Elena Rybakina was going to see her name on top of the women's tennis rankings Monday no matter what happened in the U.S. Open final.
Still, it wouldn't have felt quite the same to pass Aryna Sabalenka and become No. 1 in a tournament where Sabalenka then beat Rybakina to defend her title. It would not only have been confusing to casual fans, but a letdown to the player.
Nothing to worry about there. Rybakina was too good for Sabalenka
and anyone else in the sport right now, so her 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 victory Sunday triggered a dual celebration.
“I feel that it’s going to be amazing to wake up knowing that you achieved such big things,” Rybakina said.
There could be more to come. The 27-year-old who was born in Russia but represents Kazakhstan is on top of her game, with two Grand Slam titles in 2026. She beat Sabalenka in both finals, and even the former No. 1 concedes it would be tough to get back to the top if Rybakina stays at the level she displayed in Flushing Meadows.
“She continues to play like that, then yeah, I’m in trouble,” Sabalenka said.
The 28-year-old from Belarus had won the previous two U.S. Open titles, appeared in three straight finals and reached at least the semifinals every year since 2021. Rybakina, meanwhile, had never even gotten past the fourth round before this year.
“For some reason, New York wasn’t my best place for tennis for the past years," Rybakina said, "but definitely now it changed.”
So much has at the top of women's tennis.
It began toward the end of 2025, when Rybakina beat Sabalenka for the title at the season-ending WTA Finals. Then it was the same result at the Australian Open final, and Rybakina has gone on to match Sabalenka and French Open winner Mirra Andreeva with a tour-high three titles. Her 49 victories are one behind No. 3 Jessica Pegula for tops this year.
“I always believed that it’s possible,” Rybakina said. "We’ve been having great results. Of course, not every year is the same. I won Wimbledon in 2022. Then I wasn’t winning the Slams, but I played the final of the Australian Open the next year. I think we were always there.
“I feel like now I have a great team, great people around me, and we just continue the work. It finally paid off.”
Rybakina played so well over the past year — and Sabalenka struggled this summer — that she was assured of accumulating enough points to move up from No. 2 if she reached the semifinals at the U.S. Open. Perhaps the only thing that could have prevented that was a foot injury that Rybakina sustained at the Cincinnati Open. She stopped playing in her quarterfinal match against Iga Swiatek and then couldn't get back on the court for a few days.
So Rybakina had a lot weighing on her mind in New York, but it never seemed to affect her tennis.
“I feel like this tournament was just kind of more stressful because I was playing for No. 1 one of the matches, and then, of course, this injury which happened the week before,” Rybakina said. “So every day was kind of a challenge, but I felt like in these situations I was more calm than when similar things were happening before.”
She now needs only the French Open title to complete the career Grand Slam, and that one always figured to be the toughest to get because the red clay slows her powerful shots in ways that hard courts and grass can't.
There will surely be more meetings at the big events with Sabalenka, who held the No. 1 ranking for 99 consecutive weeks.
“Ninety-nine?” Sabalenka said. “Well, that’s amazing. Let’s see if Elena can beat me in that,” she said with a laugh.
Sabalenka still leads their rivalry 10-8, and they have split four meetings this year. But Rybakina won the matches that mattered most.
“I don’t know what future will bring, but it’s always very difficult matches against Aryna, and I feel like we push each other to be better after such tough battles,” Rybakina said.
“I don’t know what future is going to bring, but I hope success and some more wins.”
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