Elena Rybakina silenced the home crowd at Flushing Meadows to defeat American favorite Coco Gauff, setting up a massive US Open final against defending champion Aryna Sabalenka. The victory keeps Rybakina on course for her third Grand Slam title, while Sabalenka moves one step away from achieving a rare three-peat in New York.
Rybakina overcame a difficult start to edge Gauff 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 in a fiercely contested semi-final. Despite Gauff absorbing relentless pressure and breaking serve in the sixth game of the opening set to take the first frame, the Kazakh player regrouped to level the match and ultimately seize control in the decider.
“Of course there were nerves,” Rybakina admitted during her on-court interview. “Coco is a great player. It’s always tough to play her. Even if sometimes her first serve doesn’t go, the second one is so heavy it’s difficult to dictate the rallies. I took a deep breath, tried to talk positive with myself and just told myself I need to fight and try to show good tennis.”
Rybakina capitalized on uncharacteristic sloppiness from the fourth-seeded American in the second set to even the match. In the final set, the Australian Open champion used her power to break early and go up 5-3. Although Gauff fought back to break her own serve, her comeback attempt faltered when she failed to hold in the deciding moments, allowing Rybakina to secure the win.
“It was such a close third set. I feel like I got a bit lucky on her serve,” said the 27-year-old former Wimbledon champion. “Couple of deep returns, one mistake from her, it went quickly my way. I know you guys wanted Coco to win. I think it was really a battle. A few moments went my way. In the end I was just trying to be focus and stay aggressive and somehow won the match.”
Meanwhile, top seed Sabalenka continued her dominant run by dismantling Jessica Pegula 7-5, 6-2 earlier in the evening. The Belarusian relied on her signature power, hitting 29 winners and seven aces to close out the match with an unreturnable shot deep in Pegula’s court.
Pegula, the 2024 runner-up, started with poise, saving an early break point with a sharp forehand winner. However, costly errors in the second set undermined her performance as Sabalenka found her rhythm. The defending champion broke Pegula on set point to take the first set and then broke twice in the second, including on match point, to seal the victory.
“I was so desperate for the win, I wanted it badly,” Sabalenka said. “I can say that I feel confident and I feel mentally and physically really strong right now.”
Pegula acknowledged her opponent’s superiority, stating, “I think that’s probably the best match she’s played this year. I thought her level was insanely high. I’m honestly not that upset, to be honest, because I don’t really think there was much I could have done today.”
The final will mark a clash between two of the world’s best hard-court players. Head-to-head records show Sabalenka leads overall 10-7, including a 2-1 advantage in Grand Slam meetings. Sabalenka has now reached her ninth Grand Slam final and extends her winning streak at the US Open to 19 matches, sitting at 36-3 over the last five years.
The women’s final is set to air live on Sky Sports starting August 30.
A Rybakina vs Sabalenka final sounds like absolute fireworks. Can’t wait to see who wins this blockbuster showdown.
I’m surprised by how sloppy Gauff played in the third set. She usually holds up under pressure, so what happened?
What a match! Gauff played well but couldn’t close it out when it mattered most. Tough loss for the home crowd.
Is Sabalenka unbeatable right now? Her 19-match winning streak at the US Open is absolutely terrifying for everyone else.
Rybakina’s power is just too much on the hard court. She looked completely in control during that final set run.