Elena Rybakina denied Aryna Sabalenka a third consecutive US Open title on Saturday, defeating the Belarusian 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 to claim her third Grand Slam crown.
The victory capped Rybakina’s rise to world number one, with the Kazakh already assured of replacing Sabalenka at the top of the rankings after reaching the semi-finals in New York.
Rybakina, 27, won her first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon in 2022 before defeating Sabalenka in the Australian Open final in January to claim her second major.
“It feels amazing,” Rybakina said. “It’s still so difficult to process what happened. Too many achievements these few weeks. I’m super happy, very proud of all the work. It’s just amazing.”
The victory ended Sabalenka’s 20-match winning streak at Flushing Meadows. The 2024 and 2025 champion had not lost at the tournament since her defeat by Coco Gauff in the 2023 final.
Sabalenka had been bidding to become only the third woman, after Chris Evert and Serena Williams, to win three consecutive US Open titles.
The 28-year-old fought back in the second set, breaking Rybakina for the first time in the final game to force a decider. But Rybakina regained control in the third set, securing an early break and maintaining her advantage despite two double faults while serving for the championship.
She sealed the victory with an ace before celebrating in front of the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd.
“I feel like the match was so close,” Rybakina said. “Then in the third set, I told myself that I can still do it. I need to focus on my serve and just risk a little bit more when I have the chance.”
Sabalenka, who will finish the year without a Grand Slam title for the first time since 2022, admitted Rybakina was the better player.
“I’m obviously not really happy with the level I played today,” Sabalenka said. “But she served incredible. She played really aggressive, great tennis.
“She was simply a better player today than me.”
The two powerful hitters traded heavy groundstrokes from the start, but Rybakina created greater pressure on Sabalenka’s serve, earning 12 break points and converting three.
She broke in the fifth game of the opening set after repeatedly pushing Sabalenka deep behind the baseline. Sabalenka double-faulted on break point and later received a code violation warning for hitting a ball into the stands.
Rybakina closed out the first set 6-4 with a backhand winner after Sabalenka sent the decisive shot long.
Sabalenka responded strongly in the second set, saving two break points in the third game before holding serve. She gradually grew in confidence and took a 5-4 lead after twice holding to love.
Although she failed to convert her first break points of the match, Sabalenka held for 6-5 before finally breaking Rybakina to level the contest.
The comeback, however, proved short-lived as Rybakina produced a dominant third set to complete the victory and secure her third major title.
