Rybakina Beats Sabalenka for US Open Title

Elena Rybakina beat Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 in 2 hours and 21 minutes on Arthur Ashe Stadium to win her first US Open title and third Grand Slam. She sealed the championship point with her 12th ace of the match, the same finish she used at the Australian Open in January.

That is a hard-court bookend for the new No. 1. Rybakina had already locked the top ranking by reaching the semis, ending Sabalenka's 99-week stay at No. 1. On Saturday she also stopped Sabalenka's three-peat bid and, per AP, a 19-match US Open winning streak.

Three sets, then the ace

Rybakina broke early in the first set and held on despite a rough first-serve day. Sabalenka stole the second after Rybakina saved two set points at 5-5, then broke two games later. In the third there was no escape hatch. Rybakina broke for 2-1, broke again for 5-2 with a volley winner, and closed with that 12th ace.

CBS Sports noted she dropped just three points on serve in the deciding set. WTA has her at 8-10 lifetime against Sabalenka, with the last three wins all coming on the biggest stages: the WTA Finals last fall, the Australian Open final, and now Flushing Meadows.

Third Slam, Career Slam chase

This is Rybakina's third major after Wimbledon in 2022 and the Australian Open this January, also against Sabalenka. She is the third player since 2000 to win Melbourne and New York in the same season, joining Angelique Kerber (2016) and Sabalenka (2024). One Roland Garros title would finish the Career Slam.

She told the trophy crowd she had been dealing with injury and did not expect this run after retiring in Cincinnati. Then she beat Naomi Osaka, came from a set down against Zheng Qinwen and Coco Gauff, and finished the job against the two-time defending champion. Sabalenka said she would come back stronger and keep improving with a target on her back.

Tennis fans who only check the board once a day just got the loudest update of the fortnight. Fantasy tennis rooms that rode Rybakina through the back half of the draw got the title stamp. Sabalenka still leaves New York as a two-time champ who pushed this final to three sets.

WTA also noted she is the first player to beat the defending women's singles champion in a US Open final since Serena Williams in 2002, and the first to beat the world No. 1 in that final since Williams beat Victoria Azarenka in 2012. Sabalenka left New York without a major for the first time since 2022 and said she would keep working and come back stronger.

Rybakina is the new No. 1 with a new US Open trophy. That is the whole story from Ashe on Saturday night.