Rybakina Beats Gauff to Reach US Open Final

Elena Rybakina rallied past Coco Gauff 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 to reach the US Open final. The No. 2 seed silenced Arthur Ashe on Thursday night and booked a Saturday title match against Aryna Sabalenka, who had already beaten Jessica Pegula 7-5, 6-2 in the other semifinal.

It is the first US Open women's final between the top two seeds since Serena Williams beat Victoria Azarenka in 2013. Rybakina is also walking into New York with the No. 1 ranking locked for Monday. She only needed to reach the semis to end Sabalenka's 99-week reign atop the WTA list.

Gauff took set one, then the crowd went quiet

Gauff jumped Rybakina early, winning the first set in 38 minutes with four aces to one. Rybakina trailed 4-1 in the second, talked herself through the hole, and won the next stretch to even the match. She served for it at 5-3 in the third, got broken, then closed 6-4 while former first lady Michelle Obama watched from the stands.

"Took a deep breath, was trying to talk positive with myself and just told myself that I need to fight," Rybakina said. Gauff pointed to a couple of lost service games in the last two sets. The 2023 champion could not finish the comeback against the cleaner ball-striker.

Sabalenka rematch, ranking on the line

Rybakina already beat Sabalenka in January's Australian Open final for her second major. She is chasing a third Slam after Wimbledon in 2022. Sabalenka is hunting a New York three-peat, the first since Serena from 2012 to 2014, and she pounded 29 winners past Pegula to get here.

For tennis fans, Saturday is the match the draw promised: No. 1 vs No. 2, AO final rematch, ranking drama already decided on paper and still unsettled on court. Rybakina took care of Gauff the hard way. Now she gets the defending champion with a three-peat on the line.

The top four seeds all reached the women's semis for the first time since 1975. Sabalenka, Rybakina, and Gauff own multiple majors; Pegula is still hunting her first. Sabalenka has not lost in New York since the 2023 final to Gauff and stretched that streak to 19 straight matches with Thursday's win. Rybakina now stands between the three-peat and the ranking handover already stamped for Monday.

Rybakina leads the WTA Tour in aces, and she still had to survive Gauff's first-set surge before the serve-and-strike game took over. Saturday is the rematch both players already know: AO final vibes in New York, with a three-peat and a brand-new No. 1 ranking hanging over the same court.