Rybakina beats Sabalenka US Open rivals for the second time this year, winning the 2026 women’s singles final 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 at Flushing Meadows on Saturday to claim her third career Grand Slam title.
The Kazakh star’s win denied Sabalenka a shot at history. The Belarusian, chasing her third straight US Open title, was bidding to become the first woman to three-peat at Flushing Meadows since Serena Williams pulled it off in 2014. Instead, Rybakina takes the trophy — and the world No. 1 ranking, which shifts to her name when the WTA rankings update Monday, ending Sabalenka’s run of 99 consecutive weeks at the top.
How the Rybakina vs Sabalenka final unfolded
Rybakina took the opening set 6-4, closing it out with a two-handed backhand winner after Sabalenka handed her the point with an unforced error. Sabalenka struggled with her rhythm early, trying to move Rybakina around the court without generating enough pace to finish points.
The top seed found her footing in the second set. After Rybakina fought off two set points and strung together four straight points on serve to hold at 5-5, Sabalenka answered with a backhand down the line and, a few games later, an overhead smash to force a decider, taking the set 7-5.
The third set turned early. Rybakina broke Sabalenka’s serve and never let go of the advantage, closing out the match 6-2 to seal her third career major.
Frustration boils over for Sabalenka
The match carried an edge from the start. Sabalenka picked up a code violation after double-faulting and then launching a ball into the stands, and the chair umpire had to remind the crowd several times to keep quiet during points. Moments after shaking hands at the net, Sabalenka smashed her racquet, a visible sign of how much the missed three-peat stung.
Rybakina, for her part, kept her post-match comments focused on her opponent rather than the occasion. “I want to say to Aryna, you are a great champion. It’s so difficult to play you. I was diving around on court trying to get balls back,” she told the crowd, according to ABC News, before adding a line about the city hosting her latest triumph: “I’m falling in love with New York more and more.”
Rybakina’s second major of a career-best season
This is Rybakina’s second Grand Slam title of 2026 alone — she beat Sabalenka in January’s Australian Open final as well, in a three-set match that went 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. Her first major came at Wimbledon in 2022. The US Open win also came with a record payday: Rybakina collected a $7.67 million prize, the largest ever awarded to a women’s singles champion at the tournament.
For Sabalenka, the loss extends a difficult run in major finals outside the US Open. She has now lost finals at the Australian Open and French Open this year, with her US Open title defense standing as her only Grand Slam success of the season before Saturday’s defeat ended that streak too.
What the ranking change means going forward
Rybakina’s win does more than add a trophy — it ends Sabalenka’s extended stay at world No. 1 and hands Rybakina the top ranking for the first time when the WTA list updates Monday. The two players now carry an 8-6 head-to-head record in Sabalenka’s favor overall, but Rybakina has beaten her in each of their last three Grand Slam meetings, including both major finals in 2026.
With the US Open now finished on the women’s side, attention shifts to the men’s draw, which wraps up Sunday — a final that follows Ben Shelton’s run to the men’s title match against Alexander Zverev. For Rybakina, the next question is whether she can carry her form from two major titles this year into the season’s remaining tournaments and hold onto the No. 1 ranking she now takes into the fall.
