Rybakina reaches US Open final, sets up showdown with Sabalenka

Elena Rybakina fought her way into the US Open final with a three-set win over American Coco Gauff, prevailing 3-6, 6-4, 6-4. Regardless of Saturday's result, the Kazakh player will take over as the new WTA world number one when rankings update on Monday, ending Aryna Sabalenka's 99-week spell at the top.

The final will pit the tournament's top two seeds against each other for the first time since 2013, when Serena Williams beat Victoria Azarenka in the title match. Rybakina is chasing her third career Grand Slam title, having already won Wimbledon in 2022 and this year's Australian Open, where she also beat Sabalenka in the final.

Sabalenka chasing a third straight title

Sabalenka reached the final by beating home favourite Jessica Pegula 7-5, 6-2 in the semi-final, keeping alive her bid to become only the third woman in the Open era to win three consecutive US Open titles. The Belarusian started shakily, struggling with unforced errors, but dominated the second set, striking 29 winners to Pegula's 12.

The win also gave Sabalenka an Open era record for consecutive Grand Slam hard-court finals, having reached every major final on the surface since the 2023 Australian Open. That run comes despite a bumpy patch this season — after winning both Indian Wells and Miami in the spring, she lost in the French Open quarter-finals and the Wimbledon fourth round.

Sabalenka has not lost in New York since the 2023 final defeat to Gauff. For Pegula, still without a Grand Slam title, it was another defeat to her long-time rival, having also lost to Sabalenka in the 2024 final and last year's semi-final.