Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina Set for US Open Women’s Final Monday/ TezzBuzz/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ Elena Rybakina rallied past Coco Gauff 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 to reach the U.S. Open women’s final.
Two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka advanced with a 7-5, 6-2 victory over Jessica Pegula. Saturday’s final matches the current No. 1 against the player replacing her atop the WTA rankings Monday.
Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka will play for the U.S. Open women’s championship Saturday after winning contrasting semifinal matches in New York.
Rybakina recovered from a slow start to defeat Coco Gauff 3-6, 6-4, 6-4. Sabalenka advanced more comfortably, beating Jessica Pegula 7-5, 6-2.
The championship match will feature the top two players in women’s tennis. Sabalenka is currently ranked No. 1, but Rybakina will replace her when the updated WTA rankings are released Monday.
Sabalenka has already secured two consecutive U.S. Open titles and is one victory away from becoming the first woman since Serena Williams to win three straight championships at Flushing Meadows.
Williams completed her three-peat from 2012 through 2014.
Sabalenka has won 19 consecutive U.S. Open matches since Gauff defeated her in the 2023 final.
Rybakina entered the tournament needing to reach the semifinals to guarantee that she would move into the No. 1 position. She secured the ranking by defeating Zheng Qinwen in the quarterfinals.
Rybakina began the season by winning the Australian Open, where she also defeated Sabalenka. She continued closing the rankings gap while Sabalenka endured a difficult summer by her standards.
That was a notable advantage against Rybakina, who leads the WTA Tour in aces. Gauff claimed the first set in 38 minutes and appeared positioned to return to the U.S. Open final.
Rybakina regrouped by attempting to remain positive and increase her level.
Rybakina prevented the comeback from going further, capturing the next two games to force a deciding set.
The new No. 1 again moved ahead in the third, earning an opportunity to serve for the match at 5-3. Gauff broke serve as the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd—including former first lady Michelle Obama—urged her forward.
Rybakina recovered immediately and closed out the match in the following game.
The victory sent Rybakina into her first U.S. Open final and kept her in contention for a third Grand Slam championship.
Pegula stayed close to Sabalenka throughout much of the opening set of their semifinal.
The score reached 4-all after 25 minutes, and Sabalenka showed frustration when she struggled to make progress against Pegula’s serve. Pegula had won 18 of 20 points behind her first serve when she served at 5-6.
Sabalenka then raised her level. She struck a backhand winner, benefited from a Pegula forehand error and hit another winner to produce a set-point opportunity before completing the opening set.
She controlled the second set much more decisively.
Sabalenka attacked Pegula’s second serve throughout the match, winning 14 of 19 points against it. During Pegula’s second service game of the second set, Sabalenka returned a 77 mph serve with a 90 mph forehand to secure a break and a 3-1 advantage.
Sabalenka finished with 29 winners, compared with 12 for Pegula.
Pegula had previously challenged Sabalenka in the 2024 U.S. Open final and again in the 2025 semifinals. This time, she could not match the defending champion once Sabalenka took control.
Saturday’s championship will be another major final between Sabalenka and Rybakina.
Sabalenka has won four major championships and is attempting to extend her U.S. Open winning streak while securing a historic third consecutive title.
The final also completes a tournament in which the four highest-seeded women reached the semifinals for the first time since 1975. Sabalenka, Rybakina and Gauff are multiple major champions, while Pegula continues to pursue her first Grand Slam title.
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