NEW YORK — Elena Rybakina arrived in New York unable to walk without pain and left as US Open champion and new world number one, beating two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka 6-4 5-7 6-2 in Saturday's final at Flushing Meadows to win her third Grand Slam title.
The 27-year-old from Kazakhstan aggravated a foot injury during her quarter-final in Cincinnati against Iga Swiatek last month, a little over a week before the final major of the year began. "We arrived in New York and did an MRI. It didn't look that great," Rybakina said. "I couldn't even walk for the next few days without pain. I was lucky enough to have a very good doctor in Australia. She was on the phone with us all the time and somehow, with the team, we made a plan." She added: "I was so upset. I didn't know actually how it was going to be day by day," and reflected that "some magic is happening" after clutching the trophy.
Rybakina did not do any on-court training for a week, relying on daily recovery sessions in the gym plus trips for dinner and to the cinema to "switch the mind." She won her first four matches at Flushing Meadows without dropping a set, including victory over four-time major winner Naomi Osaka, then beat Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen in the quarter-finals and third seed Coco Gauff in the semi-finals before outplaying top seed Sabalenka. "I was so unlucky with the injury, but I'm very proud," Rybakina said.
The final turned on serve and composure. Rybakina landed only 27% of her first serves in the opener but still won 22 of 30 points behind her serve and did not face a break point to take the lead. Sabalenka broke in the 12th game of the second set to force a decider, but Rybakina dominated the third as the Belarusian grew visibly frustrated. Serving for the title, Rybakina threw in two double faults before coolly sending down her 12th ace at 40-30 to secure victory, raising both arms with a smile — her biggest celebration across her three major wins.
The triumph repeats her Australian Open success against Sabalenka in January and gives her two of the four Grand Slam singles titles available in 2026, despite early exits at the French Open and Wimbledon. Rybakina had already been confirmed as world number one by reaching the semi-finals and on Monday will become the 30th different woman to top the rankings, replacing Sabalenka after her 99-week reign. She has now won two of three Grand Slam finals against Sabalenka, all on hard courts.
Former British number one Annabel Croft said on BBC Radio 5 Live: "The way she [Rybakina] quietly walks around, she doesn't really lift her head up and she gives no emotion away whatsoever," adding "Rybakina is like a machine out there. You never know what's going on in her head." Croft believes Rybakina will "take it in her stride" at No. 1, noting: "There are going to be a lot of players around her nipping at her heels." Former British number one Laura Robson said on Sky Sports: "She is an all-surface player - clay is the worst one, but when you get her on something that's quite lively or quick, she's unplayable at times." Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion, has now completed three legs of the career Grand Slam, with only Roland Garros missing — she has never been beyond the quarter-finals there, though she won the WTA 1000 in Rome in 2023.