Rybakina ousts Gauff, sets Sabalenka US Open final — SkimNews
Get the Sports newsletter
Daily sports — scores, transfers, the storylines from the leagues you actually follow. Free.
- Elena Rybakina rallied past Coco Gauff 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 in Thursday's semifinal after losing the opening set, and is guaranteed to replace Aryna Sabalenka atop the WTA rankings next week after Sabalenka held No. 1 for 99 consecutive weeks.
- Aryna Sabalenka beat Jessica Pegula 7-5, 6-2 in the first semifinal, pounding 29 winners to Pegula's 12, and has now won 19 straight matches at the US Open since her 2023 final loss to Gauff.
- Sabalenka is seeking to become the first player to win three consecutive US Open women's titles since Serena Williams from 2012-14, having taken the trophy the last two years.
- Rybakina, the No. 2 seed, won the Australian Open earlier this year — beating Sabalenka in the final — and is now chasing her third Grand Slam title on Saturday.
- The US Open produced a women's semifinal field of the top four seeds for the first time since 1975, with Sabalenka, Rybakina, and Gauff all owning multiple majors while Pegula is still seeking her first.
- Sabalenka trailed 4-all in the first set against Pegula and appeared frustrated before winning five of the next six games, then ran away with the second set as Pegula couldn't keep pace.
- Gauff jumped out to a strong first set with four aces in 38 minutes, but Rybakina steadied herself — saying she 'took a deep breath' and told herself to 'fight and try to show good tennis' — and never let Gauff complete a comeback in the final two sets.
Why it matters: Saturday's final is a No. 1-vs-No. 2 clash with historical stakes: Rybakina seizes the top ranking Sabalenka held for 99 weeks, while Sabalenka can become the first woman to three-peat at the US Open since Serena Williams in 2014 — the first time the top four seeds have reached the women's semis here since 1975.
Ask SkimNews
