Elena Rybakina wins US Open and takes world No. 1

Elena Rybakina has become the new WTA world No. 1 after winning the US Open, completing a season in which she has captured two Grand Slam titles. The Kazakh player also stopped Aryna Sabalenka’s 20-match winning streak at Flushing Meadows and took the Belarusian’s crown after two successive title runs.

Rybakina defeated Sabalenka 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 in a final that lasted two hours and 23 minutes. Sabalenka made the stronger start in the exchanges, but Rybakina survived three early break-point opportunities before taking control on the next service game. A break put her 4-2 ahead, and she soon claimed the opening set.

The second set was more even, although Rybakina again created pressure on Sabalenka’s serve. This time, the world No. 1 held firm and Rybakina could not find another opening. Sabalenka eventually levelled the match after saving two set points of her own and breaking near the end of the set.

Rybakina responded immediately in the decider. She missed a break chance in the opening game but secured the next one, then consolidated her advantage before moving 5-2 ahead. Two double faults briefly complicated her attempt to close out the final, but she converted her second match point. The result gives her a third major title, following Wimbledon in 2022 and this year’s Australian Open, where she also defeated Sabalenka. Sabalenka will finish the season without a Grand Slam trophy for the first time since 2022. Maria Sharapova, the champion at the same venue 20 years earlier, presented Rybakina with the trophy.