Sabalenka

The Belarusian’s exit follows top seed Rybakina losing to unseeded Charaeva in her first match as world number one.

Aryna Sabalenka was swatted aside in straight sets by 34th-ranked Nikola Bartunkova in the third round of the China Open, leaving the event without its top two seeds as world number one Elena Rybakina was ousted in the second round.

Czech player Bartunkova, 20, sent down four aces to beat the former world number one 6-4, 6-3 in one hour and 35 minutes on Sunday.

“I focused on myself, to be calm,” Bartunkova said.

“She’s a legend … so I’m really happy that I won the match,” she said of the four-time Grand Slam champion.

Bartunkova next faces Austria’s Sinja Kraus in the round of 16.

Second-seeded Sabalenka squandered five chances to break serve in the sixth game of the first set, with Bartunkova strong on defence and firing deep.

The 28-year-old from Belarus threw on a cap for the eighth game of the first set as the women switched between playing in the shade and the sun, but it did not turn the tide in her favour.

A frustrated Sabalenka tossed her racquet at a break down in the fourth game of the second set, and lost on the first match point when she returned into the net.

Earlier on Saturday, Elena Rybakina – who replaced Sabalenka as the world number one last month – was ousted by Alina Charaeva in the second round.

Top seed Alexander Zverev was scheduled to play Novak Djokovic later on Sunday in the quarterfinals of the men’s 500-level event also taking place.

The 39-year-old Serbian great enters the match with an extraordinary unbeaten streak in Beijing, but Zverev — last month’s US Open champion — is in the running for the top men’s ranking.

Rybakina rarely shows emotion on the court but there was a brief flash of a smile as she clinched her second major victory of an outstanding 2026 season.

That illustrated the sense of satisfaction she felt after winning a title few had predicted – not only because she had never previously gone beyond the last 16 in New York but the circumstances coming into the final major of the season.

With her penetrating serve and thunderous groundstrokes, Rybakina has a brand of first-strike tennis that can take the racquet out of anyone’s hands.

Therefore it has been a surprise she has not enjoyed greater success on the Flushing Meadows hard courts, perhaps a result of her personality not being particularly suited to the brash nature of New York.

“I was coming here for the last 10 years and it was never successful. I’m falling in love with New York more and more,” Rybakina, 27, said.

What makes the second seed’s victory even more remarkable is that she was unsure if she would be fit enough to even play.

Rybakina was unable to walk for several days after injuring her ankle in the Cincinnati Open quarter-finals, putting her chances of competing here in serious jeopardy.

Not only was Rybakina able to play, but she cruised through her opening four matches thanks to a huge service game that rarely allowed opponents to get into points.

Rybakina’s next two wins over China’s Zheng Qinwen and home favourite Coco Gauff required more work after losing the first sets, proving she had the durability to come through tough battles.

Against Sabalenka, she showed both facets of her game, bullying her from the baseline and digging in when necessary to leave her only a French Open title away from the career Grand Slam.

“Some magic is happening. I was unlucky with injury and just going day by day,” Rybakina told Sky Sports.

“We didn’t know how it was going to be so I’m super happy and still can’t believe it.”

NEW YORK: Elena Rybakina won her first US Open title and punctuated her climb to the top of women’s tennis by beating Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 on Saturday.

Rybakina had already been guaranteed to replace Sabalenka at No. 1 in the rankings next week and for good measure took the US Open title that Sabalenka had won the previous two years.

“It’s tough to find words right now, honestly,” Rybakina said. “I don’t expect nothing like this coming to this tournament. I’ve been dealing with a little bit with an injury, but somehow everything aligned together on my side.”

It was the third Grand Slam title for Rybakina and the second this year — both against Sabalenka on hard courts. She opened the season by beating Sabalenka for the Australian Open title.

This time, she stopped Sabalenka’s 19-match winning streak at the US Open, where she hadn’t lost since falling to Coco Gauff in the 2023 final.

“I really felt like home here and cannot wait to come back next year,” Sabalenka said. “I wish I could perform a little bit better but I guess next year.”

Rybakina earned $5.5 million, the largest prize in Grand Slam history, and tied Sabalenka and French Open winner Mirra Andreeva with a tour-high three titles this season.

Sabalenka took home $2.8 million but it was clear how little that meant to her, as she smashed her racket after a brief hug with Rybakina at the net.

Sabalenka was trying to become the first person since Serena Williams from 2012-14 to win three in a row at Flushing Meadows.

Rybakina dethroned the champ without even having her best stuff. The WTA Tour leader in aces got less than half of her first serves in but instead put Sabalenka under constant pressure with a strong return game, racking up 12 break chances and converting three, which was all she needed.

The third meeting of No. 1 vs. No. 2 in a US Open women’s final since 2000 was the first to go the way of the challenger. Williams was the top seed for the other two, beating her sister Venus in 2002 and Victoria Azarenka in 2013.

The numbers didn’t signify much this time, because they are going to flip Monday. Sabalenka has held the top spot for 99 consecutive weeks, but Rybakina gained enough points to unseat her simply by reaching the semifinals.

She didn’t stop there.

The 27-year-old who was born in Russia but represents Kazakhstan won her first major title at Wimbledon in 2022 and now needs just the French Open to complete the career Grand Slam.

And it’s clear her power — and her ability to absorb her opponent’s — was something that unnerved Sabalenka.

A native of Belarus, Sabalenka sometimes swings from her heels, like a golfer trying to unleash a 300-yard drive, grunting “Aaaaahhhh!” as she takes her mighty cuts.

Rybakina’s power comes more easily. There is little sound coming from her side of the net besides the squeaking of her sneakers, and she rarely shows any hint of stress.

“I think Elena is probably — not nonchalant, I don’t want to say that, because she’s not nonchalant — but just no reaction ever,” Gauff said after losing to Rybakina in the semifinals.

Rybakina did show some frustration after pulling a backhand wide with a break point in the opening game of the third set, but soon she had taken charge of the match for good.

Sabalenka had won the two other meetings this season, on the hard courts at Indian Wells and Miami, and leads their rivalry 10-8.

But her season then took a strange dip after those victories. Sabalenka fell to Naomi Osaka in the fourth round at Wimbledon, then returned to action with consecutive fourth-round exits in Toronto and Cincinnati.

Rybakina had to take a brief break after she was forced to stop playing in her quarterfinal match against Iga Swiatek in Cincinnati because of a foot injury, but she was healthy in time for a tournament where she had never done particularly well, failing to advance past the fourth round until this year.

“I honestly was coming here for the last 10 years, and it was never successful — nothing close to that,” Rybakina said. “It’s just incredible. I’m falling in love with New York more and more.”

Arthur Ashe Stadium, meanwhile, had been Sabalenka’s house, with four straight trips to the final and six to at least the semis. Whatever troubled her during the summer seemed forgotten once she was back in New York — until Saturday.

Sabalenka repeatedly looked toward her coaches’ box with her palms up, wondering why everything was going so poorly, and showed much more frustration than that when she double-faulted to hand Rybakina a 3-2 lead in the first set. Rybakina hit the serve back and the ball bounced directly to Sabalenka, who whacked it into the crowd, earning a warning from the chair umpire.

Sabalenka eventually began putting consistent pressure on Rybakina in the second set. She picked up two break points with a chance to end the set with a 5-4 lead, and though Rybakina won four straight points to get out of that jam, Sabalenka got another chance in the next service game and this time capitalized, stepping into a return to set up a miss by Rybakina.

Aryna Sabalenka was fully aware she would have to win the US Open to stand any chance of stopping Elena Rybakina overtaking her as world number one.

Even that would not necessarily be enough. And as the pair prepare to meet in Saturday’s final, Sabalenka knows her 99-week stay at the top of the world rankings is at an end.

Kazakhstan’s Rybakina is assured of replacing Sabalenka at the top of the rankings, guaranteeing that by reaching the semi-finals.

Having also beaten the Belarusian to win this year’s Australian Open title, Rybakina now has the opportunity to inflict further damage.

But that provides extra motivation for Sabalenka before their fourth meeting of the year.

“It is going to be red rag to a bull for her – she is not going to be happy,” said former British number one Annabel Croft on BBC Radio 5 Live.

“Now she has the opportunity to end this year on a high.”

Sabalenka, who has beaten Rybakina in Indian Wells and Miami since the Melbourne final, still has history in her sights as she bids to become only the third woman in the Open era to win the New York singles title three years in a row.

The four-time Grand Slam champion’s victory over American third seed Jessica Pegula in the semi-finals was her finest display in months, playing with a fire and freedom that had been missing previously.

Afterwards, Sabalenka played down the significance of losing her ranking, joking she did not care about it.

But she clearly does. Sabalenka’s coach Anton Dubrov said as much when he spoke about how the issue has been hanging over her.

“I actually like this [losing the ranking] happened. It’s ended and it’s extra fuel,” Dubrov said.

“There is no more extra draining [of mental energy] or thinking about it.

“There’s a next chapter right now. You have to chase again. It’s extra motivation for you. Just go and get it.”

Aryna Sabalenka beat Jessica Pegula 7-5, 6-2 to reach US Open final with Elena Rybakina, who toppled her as World No 1.

Aryna Sabalenka stormed past Jessica Pegula in straight sets on Thursday to keep her bid for a rare US Open threepeat on track, booking a championship showdown with Elena Rybakina.

Sabalenka was simply unstoppable in a 7-5, 6-2 victory on Arthur Ashe Stadium, where she beat Pegula en route to US Open victories in 2024 and 2025.

Rybakina battled back to beat 2023 champion Coco Gauff 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.

In Saturday’s final, the Kazakh will try to deal Sabalenka another blow after her run to the semifinals ensured she will end the Belarusian’s reign atop the world rankings.

Sabalenka, bidding to join Chris Evert and Serena Williams as the only women to win three straight US Open titles, pounded third-seeded Pegula remorselessly with her powerful groundstrokes.

“I was super desperate,” said Sabalenka, who has had a slow summer since back-to-back wins at Indian Wells and Miami in March.

“I wanted it badly to go to the finals, and of course, I want to go all the way.

“The mentality was just I’m ready. I’m ready for whatever it’s going to take to get the win,” Sabalenka added, after producing her best performance of the tournament to snuff out Pegula’s dream of a first-ever Grand Slam title.

Sabalenka’s frustration at her inability to make any headway against Pegula’s serve showed in a tense first set. But she maintained her focus and was rewarded as Pegula, feeling the pressure to stay in the set as she served down 6-5, fell behind 0-40.

The American saved one set point but could not salvage the next.

Sabalenka kept rolling in the second set, attacking Pegula’s suspect second serve and seizing a break for a 3-1 lead when she lasered a forehand into the corner.

She sealed the victory with another break courtesy of another thunderous forehand.

“I thought her level was insanely high,” Pegula said. “Honestly, I don’t really know if there was much I could do today.”

Rybakina, who beat Sabalenka in the Australian Open final in January to claim her second Grand Slam title, said she would need to raise her level to do the same in Flushing Meadows.

“I feel like I definitely need to step my game up, serve much better than today and stay aggressive,” Rybakina said.

Gauff’s bid to return to the final for the first time since she defeated Sabalenka for the 2023 title had got off to a smooth start, the American gaining the lone break of the opening set for a 4-2 lead and pocketing the set with a love game.

But Rybakina hit back with an early break on the way to a 4-1 lead in the second.

Gauff responded superbly, breaking back and holding to square the set at 4-4 to roars from the crowd.

But she was unable to make the most of her fightback and double-faulted in the 10th game to hand two set points to Rybakina, who pounced to force a third set.

Rybakina looked on the brink of victory after breaking Gauff for a 5-3 lead in the third. Gauff broke back, but Rybakina clinched it in the next game.

A deft volley from Rybakina left her with two match points, and Gauff then hit a wide-open smash long to hand her opponent victory.

“I feel like I was a little bit lucky on her serve,” Rybakina said. “A couple of deep returns, one mistake from her, it went quickly my way … It was a real battle.”

Gauff, meanwhile, was left reflecting on the fine margins of the defeat.

“It honestly came down to a couple of service games of mine in both sets and I didn’t quite hold,” Gauff said. “I think she was able to hold the line a bit better than I could tonight.”

The men’s semifinals are on Friday, when eighth-seeded Ben Shelton takes on 11th seed Frances Tiafoe in an all-American clash.

Shelton took out defending champion and seven-time Grand Slam winner Carlos Alcaraz in an epic quarterfinal that ended at 3:34am on Wednesday – the latest finish in tournament history.

“Big Ben” and “Big Foe” will duel for a chance to end American men’s 23-year Grand Slam title drought.

The winner will take on either top-seeded French Open champion Alexander Zverev or unseeded Russian Karen Khachanov.

NEW YORK: Aryna Sabalenka moved a win away from her third straight US Open title, beating Jessica Pegula 7-5, 6-2 on Thursday night.

Sabalenka blasted her way out of what was a dead-even match for most of the first set, pouncing on Pegula’s second serves and turning the second set into perhaps her most impressive stretch of tennis in the tournament.

“No complaints,” Sabalenka said. “I’m just super happy that I was able to pull out such tennis.”

The No. 1 seed will face No. 2 Elena Rybakina or No. 4 Coco Gauff on Saturday, needing a victory to become the first player to win three in a row in Flushing Meadows since Serena Williams from 2012-14.

Rybakina will replace Sabalenka atop the women’s tennis rankings next week, and Sabalenka said this week she would be fine ceding No. 1 after she held it 99 consecutive weeks if it she was able to win another US Open trophy.

It will be hard to prevent that if she hits the ball Saturday the way she did against Pegula.

Sabalenka pounded 29 winners to Pegula’s 12, turning their third straight meeting at the end of the US Open into a rout, after her victory in the 2024 final and 2025 semifinals were tight most of the way.

“I was so desperate for the win, I wanted it badly,” Sabalenka said.

She has won 19 straight matches at the US Open since losing to Gauff in the 2023 final.

After 99 weeks, there will be a new women’s world number one – and it will be Elena Rybakina.

Rybakina confirmed she will replace Aryna Sabalenka at the top of the world rankings on Monday with her US Open quarter-final victory over China’s Zheng Qinwen.

Despite losing a set for the first time in the tournament, Rybakina fought back and saved a break point in the deciding set to complete a 3-6 6-1 6-4 win.

She is the first Kazakhstani man or woman to reach the top of the singles standings.

Rybakina has been in hot pursuit of Sabalenka this season and arrived in New York as one of three women who threatened the Belarusian’s position, alongside Americans Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff.

However, the other three contenders each needed to win the title and hope Rybakina exited before the semi-finals to capture the number one spot.

Sabalenka’s consecutive 99-week reign as world number one stretches back to 21 October 2024 and stands as the sixth-longest streak in WTA history.

The top two players could yet meet in the US Open final – just as they did at this year’s Australian Open, where Rybakina prevailed in three sets.

For Rybakina, the trophy is more important than her new ranking.

“It’s just a number right now. My goal is to win the tournaments which I play,” the 27-year-old sad.

“It’s an amazing achievement, but you know how quickly everything can change in tennis ranking-wise.”

Rybakina will face either Coco Gauff or Mirra Andreeva in Thursday’s semi-finals, while Sabalenka takes on Jessica Pegula.

Sabalenka began the match in cruise control, breaking in sixth seed Noskova’s opening service game and racing into a 5-2 lead, before being broken as she served for the set.

Although she dominated the subsequent tie-break, the double fault she hit in her last service game – one of four in the match – would prove a feature of her performance, as would her failure to convert break points.

She wasted three early in the second set before conceding a break in the sixth game with a double fault at 30-40 as Noskova forced a decider.

After hitting two more double faults to be broken for a third time, she looked down and out after Noskova held to love for a 4-2 lead, but won the next three games to turn the match around.

She then won the tie-break – for a 10th successive time at the US Open, in a run dating back to 2021 – to complete her comeback, sealing the victory with a nerveless second-serve ace.

This was only Sabalenka’s second quarter-final victory since March, with the top seed unable to replicate her early season hard-court success – which included titles in Brisbane, Indian Wells and Miami – on the clay or grass.

She suffered last-16 exits in Toronto and Cincinnati in the build-up to the US Open, but has rediscovered something approaching her best form at the tournament where she is yet to lose a quarter-final in six attempts.

For Noskova, this defeat, during which she hit more winners, fewer unforced errors, and saved seven of her nine break points, ends a run of 11 consecutive singles wins at Grand Slams.

EW YORK: Aryna Sabalenka kept alive her hopes for a third straight US Open championship by fighting off Linda Noskova 7-6 (1), 3-6, 7-6 (10-7) on Tuesday in a thrilling quarterfinal matchup of major champions.

Sabalenka finished off the match with a second-serve ace to turn back the Wimbledon champion and reach the semifinals in Flushing Meadows for the sixth straight year.

Sabalenka — who needed to win to maintain the No. 1 ranking — will face either No. 3 Jessica Pegula or No. 26 Emma Navarro on Thursday in the semifinals.

Noskova, the No. 6 seed, won her first major title at the All England Club and narrowly missed becoming the first woman since Serena Williams in 2016 to follow a title on the grass by reaching the final four on the hardcourts of New York.

The match began with five successive breaks of serve – mostly due to excellent returning by both players – but it was Sabalenka who finally took charge.

Doubles specialist Townsend, who walked out wearing a long, black-feathered outfit, continued to frustrate Sabalenka and forced her to serve out the set at the second opportunity, before making the breakthrough in the second set.

But Sabalenka, aware she must lift the trophy to have a chance of retaining her number one ranking, produced an immediate reply as she broke back to love.

That signalled the start of Sabalenka’s dash to the finish line. The top seed lost just five points across the final five games to end Townsend’s challenge in 75 minutes.

Sabalenka was full of praise for Townsend, saying: “What an incredible player she is, approaching the net, a great returner, moving well, very brave.

“You can see how focused she was. It was really challenging playing her, especially here.

“Thank you so much [to the crowd] for being so respectful to me. I knew coming into this match that you guys would be on her side, but you were sometimes cheering for me and I really appreciate that.”

At home on the US Open hard courts, Sabalenka has not failed to reach the semi-finals here since 2020.

But, following a fourth-round exit at Wimbledon, she is aiming to avoid a first season without a major title since 2022.

Noskova’s sense of relief was cleared as she crouched to the ground after taking her sixth match point about an hour after earning her first.

The 21-year-old served for the match in the second set, but missed her first two match points as Kostyuk battled back from 5-3 down to force a decider.

The players exchanged breaks of serve in a tense final set, but it was Noskova who emerged, once again, with a 5-3 advantage.

Noskova failed to take her next two match points as a couple of misses helped Kostyuk to deuce, and missed her fifth after saving a break point, before finally getting over the line after an emotionally draining two and a half hours on court.

“I am more than relieved, this match was so tough, emotionally a bit more than physically,” Noskova said.

“Today was very close, it could have ended both ways. With all the chances I had in the second set, it was tough to still kind of restart.”

Defending singles champions Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka have sailed into the last 16 of the US Open as tennis icons Serena and Venus Williams suffered an agonising defeat on their long-awaited return to Grand Slam doubles.

Alcaraz, coming off a four-month injury absence, beat China’s Wu Yibing 6-3, 6-4, 6-1 on Friday to book his place in the fourth round, while Sabalenka was similarly dominant in a 6-3, 6-4 defeat of Kamilla Rakhimova.

Alcaraz will face 20th-seeded American Tommy Paul for a place in the quarterfinals after Paul beat 15th-seeded Alexander Bublik 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (4/7), 6-1, 6-3.

“The way he plays is unbelievable, the rhythm he has on every shot – forehand, backhand,” Alcaraz said of Wu. “His balls skid a lot on the court and, for me, it’s really difficult to control sometimes.

“But I think I stayed there. I played aggressive. I played smart in the toughest moments.”

Wu recovered an early break in each of the first two sets, but Alcaraz pocketed both with breaks in the final games, and after saving a pair of break points in the first game of the third, the Spaniard rolled home.

“I think my level is really good,” he said. “I’ve got into the rhythm of the competition. I’m getting there.”

World number one Sabalenka did not face a break point in her dismissal of Rakhimova, firing 29 winners with 10 aces.

The numbers did not tell the whole tale of a match that saw 92nd-ranked Rakhimova challenge Sabalenka in a second-set slugfest.

Sabalenka was also unimpressed by the pervasive smell of marijuana – an increasingly common issue at the US Open – wafting down from the stands during her match.

“It’s a bit tricky to handle that smell while you’re trying to compete at your best,” said Sabalenka, who at one point complained to the umpire about the issue.

Sabalenka, who must repeat as champion to have a chance of remaining number one, next faces Taylor Townsend, the 96th-ranked American who beat 15th-seeded Russian Diana Shnaider 6-2, 6-7 (3/7), 6-3.

Williams sisters lose thriller

With Alcaraz and Sabalenka among the early starters, all eyes on the evening session were on the Williams sisters, partnering in a Grand Slam doubles event for the first time since 2022.

The duo returned to the US Open stage comes after 23-time Grand Slam singles champion Serena came out of a four-year retirement to play at Wimbledon.

But the most famous sister act in tennis – who won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles together along with three Olympic gold medals – were beaten 6-3, 6-7 (6/8), 7-6 (10/7) by 14th seeds Chan Hao-ching of Taiwan and Australia’s Maya Joint in a marathon three-hour battle.

The Williams duo had shown flashes of their brilliant best after recovering from losing the first set to level the match after taking the second set on a tie-break.

Momentum and a raucous New York crowd appeared to be carrying them towards victory after they sprinted into a 5-0 lead in the third-set tie-break. But Chan and Joint fought back superbly to erase the deficit before clinching victory.

Pegula through, Muchova upset

In other singles action on Friday, third-seeded American Jessica Pegula, one of the players with a chance to knock Sabalenka off her No 1 perch, mounted a desperate fightback to beat Canadian Leylah Fernandez 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 in a battle of former finalists.

Elsewhere, Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk beat Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-3, 6-2 and American Emma Navarro upset seventh-seeded Czech Karolina Muchova 6-3, 7-5.

Back in the men’s draw, American 11th seed Frances Tiafoe was a comfortable 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 victor over Monaco’s Valentin Vacherot, seeded 22.

Tiafoe’s win earned him a last 16 showdown with Russian seventh seed Daniil Medvedev.

Medvedev was a similarly unfussy winner over French 26th seed Arthur Rinderknech, easing to a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 win in just under two hours.

Unseeded former world number three Stefanos Tsitsipas – whose ranking has plummeted to 53 – meanwhile toppled 18th seed Jiri Lehecka, 2-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7/3), 6-1 to reach the US Open fourth round for the first time.

Tsitsipas will face American eighth seed Ben Shelton in the last 16. Shelton defeated Canada’s Denis Shapovalov 7-6 (7/3), 6-7 (5/7), 6-3, 6-4 in the late match.