NEW YORK — Coco Gauff saved two match points to rally past Mirra Andreeva 2-6 7-6 (9-7) 6-2 and set up a US Open semi-final against incoming world No. 1 Elena Rybakina, who earlier recovered to beat Zheng Qinwen 3-6 6-1 6-4 in New York.
Blown away in a 26-minute opening set, fourth seed Gauff was twice pegged back from a break up at 4-2 and 5-3 in a scrappy second set before coming through a 16-point tie-break to force a decider. Roared on by a partisan crowd, the American closed out the mental battle to reach back-to-back Grand Slam semi-finals and her first in New York since winning the title in 2023. "At the end of the first set I was thinking about Frances and how he came back yesterday," Gauff said. "We all want to do well in front of this crowd. Honestly, I was just trying to leave the court with no regrets."
The performance was uncharacteristic. Gauff, the two-time major champion who won the 2023 US Open and 2025 French Open, hit 22 winners against 42 unforced errors including 12 double faults and won just five of the opening 21 points. A double fault to start the tie-break felt ominous, but the 22-year-old saved two match points and then dominated the decider, where she made just two unforced errors to Andreeva's 14. Andreeva flung her racquet after the first break of the final set. "You have to admire how Coco does this. She's done it so many times in her career," former British No.1 Annabel Croft said on BBC Radio 5 Live.
Gauff said her fightback was inspired by compatriot Frances Tiafoe's comeback victory over Alex Michelsen on Tuesday night. Her progression means the top four seeds have reached the women's singles semi-finals at a major for the first time since Wimbledon in 2009, after top seed Aryna Sabalenka and third seed Jessica Pegula progressed on Tuesday. Second seed Rybakina, 27, arrived in New York trailing Sabalenka by just 434 points and guaranteed herself the No.1 ranking for the first time by reaching the last four, becoming the first Kazakhstani man or woman to do so.
Rybakina, who won the Australian Open in January, recovered from losing a set for the first time this tournament and going break-point down in the decider against Zheng. Zheng, who has a 0-3 losing record in US Open quarter-finals, offered a reminder of her talent after dropping out of the top 100 following elbow surgery in July 2025. The reigning Olympic champion, ranked 121st heading into the tournament, came through three qualifying rounds for her first Grand Slam main-draw win since last year's French Open, then stunned 22nd seed Madison Keys after trailing 5-0 in the third set and saving match point, and eighth seed Iga Swiatek. She will rise to 52nd in the live rankings with just 65 points to defend for the rest of the season, but missed a routine backhand pass on break point at 4-4 in the decider before a loose backhand and double fault from 0-40 to deuce ended her run.