NEW YORK — Elena Rybakina beat Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 on Saturday in the US Open women’s singles final. The match at Arthur Ashe Stadium began at 3 p.m. CT and ran 2 hours, 21 minutes.
Sabalenka arrived at the final as the top seed on a 19-match US Open winning streak, and she had played one three-set match through six rounds. She held the world No. 1 ranking for 99 consecutive weeks. Rybakina, the No. 2 seed, moves to the top of the WTA rankings on Monday.
Sabalenka met reporters at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center after the match. The first question was about her emotions.
“I’m obviously not really happy with the level I played today, but she served incredible,” Sabalenka said. “She played really aggressive, great tennis, and, yeah, she was simply a better player today than me.”
Rybakina hit 12 aces. Sabalenka hit 6. Rybakina finished with 36 winners and 24 unforced errors, and Sabalenka finished with 32 winners and 35 unforced errors, according to UPI. Rybakina converted 3 break points to Sabalenka’s 1.
In the first set, Rybakina broke for a 3-2 lead on a Sabalenka double fault. The chair umpire gave Sabalenka a warning for ball abuse during the changeover that followed. Sabalenka broke late in the second set to force a decider, then lost serve at 2-1 and again at 5-2. Rybakina closed it with her 12th ace, a 110-mph serve.
Saturday was the third Grand Slam final between the two. Sabalenka won the 2023 Australian Open. Rybakina won the 2026 Australian Open in January. Sabalenka leads the series 10-8, and Rybakina is 5-2 against her in tournament finals.
Sabalenka won the 2024 US Open title over Jessica Pegula and the 2025 title over Amanda Anisimova. A win Saturday would have made her the first woman to take three straight in New York since Serena Williams from 2012 through 2014.
A later question turned to Rybakina.
“We have a great rivalry. We play a lot of great matches, great finals this season,” Sabalenka said. “Her serve is amazing, the way she’s able to step in and overpower you on court, and especially if it’s a US Open court where it’s super fast, it’s definitely a huge advantage for her. So a lot of things make her dangerous.”
Aryna Sabalenka On The Ball And The Racket
During the first set, Sabalenka sent a ball into the crowd, and she threw her racket later in the match. She was asked what was going through her mind.
“It’s really tough to control your emotions when you lose in the final of the Grand Slam and when you were trying to go for three-peat,” Sabalenka said. “So I just wanted to let it go, because if I would hold it inside right now over here or there on the court, I wouldn’t be able to say a word.”
A reporter asked whether playing a large number of finals makes a match harder to handle once it starts slipping away.
“You’re thinking too much,” Sabalenka said. “I was just out there competing, trying my best with what I had there today, and not good enough.”
Another reporter described the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd as behind Sabalenka from the opening game.
“I felt amazing,” Sabalenka said. “Actually, at some point I felt like, oh my God, I feel American over there. I just wish I could, you know, win it and feel the support even more. So not this year.”
In 2026, Sabalenka won three titles, at Brisbane, Indian Wells, and Miami. She lost the Australian Open final to Rybakina in January. She reached the quarterfinals at Roland Garros. At Wimbledon she lost in the fourth round to Naomi Osaka 6-2, 7-6(2).
One question characterized the stretch as a difficult summer.
“I think overall I should be happy with the level I played and there’s lots of things to take from this tournament,” Sabalenka said. “But as experience shows, I only come back stronger, and all of these lessons this season definitely already made me stronger, but definitely gonna motivate me for the next year to do a better job.”
Another question framed her drop to No. 2 as a chance to chase rather than be chased.
“I think anyway, when you go out there, you have a target on your back,” Sabalenka said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re number one or number two, three, four, whatever it is. So I’ll just keep working hard and keep improving my tennis, my level, and hopefully I will win some more tournaments.”
Sabalenka On 99 Weeks At No. 1
The last question of the availability concerned the ranking.
“I think it’s an incredible achievement and I don’t even know how many weeks I was able to be there,” Sabalenka said. “99? Well, that’s amazing. Let’s see if Elena can beat me in that. Should continue playing like that, then I’m in trouble.”
Rybakina’s win was her third major and her first at the US Open. She has now won 14 consecutive matches at hard-court majors.
