ASTANA – On Sept. 12, Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina defeated Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 in the US Open final to claim the third Grand Slam title of her career. The victory ended Sabalenka’s 19-match winning streak at the tournament and completed a remarkable rise for Rybakina.
A few days before that, she became the world No. 1, the 30th woman in WTA history to reach the top of the rankings and the first player representing Kazakhstan to do so. Rybakina had technically secured the No. 1 ranking before the final, after defeating Zheng Qinwen in the quarterfinals.
But winning the title made the achievement even more significant. It was also an unexpected conclusion to a tournament that had begun with uncertainty. Rybakina arrived in New York after spending a week away from the court because of a left-foot injury. She had retired during the first set of her Cincinnati match against Iga Swiatek, and that tournament could have given her an earlier opportunity to reach the top of the rankings.
“I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself,” Rybakina said before the final, explaining that regardless of the result, she would still have other opportunities ahead. Before 2026, the US Open was Rybakina’s least successful Grand Slam tournament. Across eight previous appearances, she had never advanced beyond the fourth round.
This time, however, she defeated Thea Frodin, Jessica Bouzas Maneiro and Yuliia Starodubtseva before overcoming former champion Naomi Osaka. Her quarterfinal against Zheng Qinwen became another test of her ability to recover. Rybakina lost the opening set but fought back to win the match.
The semifinal against Coco Gauff followed a similar pattern. After losing the first set 3-6, Rybakina won the next two 6-4, 6-4 to reach her first US Open final. Three consecutive comeback victories were significant for a player whose game has often been associated with a straightforward formula: a powerful serve, flat groundstrokes and an aggressive style of play.
In New York, she demonstrated another side of her game: the ability to adapt, recover and win when a match does not follow her preferred script. Rybakina was born in Moscow on June 17, 1999. She initially tried several sports with her elder sister Anna, including gymnastics and figure skating.