NEW YORK — Elena Rybakina is in her first U.S. Open final. Rybakina, the No. 2 seed, rallied past No. 4 seed Coco Gauff 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 on Thursday night at Arthur Ashe Stadium, one day after clinching the No. 1 ranking.
The first set came down to one break for Rybakina, and there were nerves after it. “Took a deep breath, was trying to talk positive with myself and just told myself that I need to fight and try to show good tennis,” Rybakina said after the match.
Gauff broke for a 4-2 lead in the opening set and held at love for 5-2. She took the set in 38 minutes. Gauff had four aces in the set to one for Rybakina, who leads the WTA Tour in aces.
In the second set, Gauff trailed 4-1 and battled back to 4-all. Rybakina won the next two games to even the match.
Coco Gauff Broke Elena Rybakina Serving For The Match
Rybakina went up 5-3 in the third set and served for the match. Gauff broke her. The crowd cheering Gauff at Arthur Ashe Stadium included former first lady Michelle Obama.
Serving at 4-5, Gauff fell behind 15-40 after a volley from Rybakina. She hit an overhead long on the first match point. It was Rybakina’s second straight break of Gauff’s serve.
Rybakina said the third set was a real battle. “I feel like I was a little bit lucky on her serve,” Rybakina explained, according to AFP. “A couple of deep returns, one mistake from her, it went quickly my way.”
Gauff said on court Wednesday that her last match against Rybakina had been a tough three-setter. “I know I’m going to have some aces hit on me and some winners hit on me, but I’m going to keep fighting and give it my all,” Gauff said that day. “That’s all I can do.”
On Wednesday, Gauff reached the semifinals by beating French Open champion Mirra Andreeva 2-6, 7-6 (7), 6-2. She saved two match points in the tiebreaker. Gauff won the 2023 U.S. Open by beating Aryna Sabalenka in the final.
Elena Rybakina Faces Aryna Sabalenka For U.S. Open Title
Rybakina clinched the No. 1 ranking Wednesday with a 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 quarterfinal win over Zheng Qinwen. She expects to appreciate the ranking more once her career is over. “It’s just a number right now and of course I’m in the semis so my goal is to win the tournament,” Rybakina said after that match.
When the WTA releases its new rankings Monday, Rybakina will be the first player from Kazakhstan to hold No. 1. Rybakina, 27, beat Sabalenka 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in the Australian Open final in January. Her other major title came at Wimbledon in 2022.
For the first time since 1975, the top four seeds all reached the U.S. Open women’s semifinals. Sabalenka beat Jessica Pegula 7-5, 6-2 in the first one.
“She’s unbelievable player and she was playing really well today,” Rybakina said of Sabalenka, Forbes’ Adam Zagoria reported. “I definitely need to step my game up, serve much better, start to serve much better than today and stay aggressive … Just try to enjoy.”
The winner receives $5.5 million and the runner-up $2.8 million, Forbes reported. The final is Saturday at 3 p.m. CT on ESPN.
